Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style
by Jung-Hee
Summary: Sakura and the Hatake Boys, are finally in London! And Sasuke and Sakura are more closer than ever, but what's with this guy from Sakura's past finally making himself known? Is Sakura and Sasuke's relationship coming to a sudden stop?/Sequel to SGTTHB/R
1. Chapter1 Sobs, Planes, and Boys

Disclaimer: I own nothing and everything. This is that nothing, and I am that everything.

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**.Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style.::.**

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_Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had to spend eight hours on a plane,  
__with seven boys?  
__Well, let me tell you, as wonderful as it might seem, in all actuality it's my worse nightmare.  
__Especially if your old crush from your old school is on that exact same plane and is acting really weird.  
__And what's worse, your current boyfriend is very possessive and can read you like the back of his hand.  
__Oh boy..._

_Bring on the Madness_

___

___

___

**Chapter.1 Sobs, Planes, and Boys**

**.**

**A week before they landed in London; Hatake Household:**

**:~:**

It was six o'clock a.m on a Saturday morning and everything was peaceful, and quiet. The birds were chirping, the windchimes' music was playing softly with the wind. Everything was tranq-

"AAAAAAGGHHHHHHH, OH MY GAWD! WE'RE SO LATE!!!"

_

*crash*

_

*bang*

_

"NARUTO!"

"Me~!? You were the one who didn't set the clock on time!"

"Hn, all I can say is that it's both of yalls' fault."

"SHUT UP (TEME)!" simultaneous voices shouted indignantly.

Anko and Kakashi watched tiredly as all their kids ran all over the house to try and get ready for the airport. Anko sighed, and leaned against her husband. She lifted her wrist and glanced at her watch, then lifted her eyes to see Sasuke pushing Kiba out of the way to get into the bathroom. Then while smiling crookedly, watched as Gaara walked into the bathroom without even knocking. She shook her head, the poor boy was probably beyond annoyed at this moment, he didn't even care what he was doing.

She looked back towards her husband, who had been so amused by the whole thing, he actually glanced away from his precious book.

"OMG, NARUTO!-"

"WHAT'D I DO NOW?!"

"Dude! Put some pants on!"

"Holly crap! Dude that's so sick! Troublesome baka!"

"Dude seriously, that's so gross!"

"What? I'm in my boxers! And look who's talking!"

"Oh my god! KIBA!"

"Oh, would you look at that."

Anko looked to her left when she heard a chuckle coming from her husband. He turned to her, his mask off -which was rare- and his eyes twinkling with hidden mirth.

"They're your kids," he said. "You know that, right?"

She smiled and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, leaning forward and whispering into his ear. "It takes two to Tango, sweetie." she giggled when he rolled his eyes.

His eyes squinted as he poked her. "Hm, yara, yara," he sighed, and watched as Itachi ran up and down the steps, placing all the luggage by the door. "Out of half our sons that hate being late for everything, and are always on time... How is it that the most important thing to be on time for, is something that manages to make them so late?" he shook his head in disbelief.

Anko thought for a second. "Maybe, the news about the baby really shocked them..." she shrugged, almost spitting out her coffee when she saw Sasuke and Gaara walking out of the bathroom as calm, and cool as she had ever seen them. She rolled her eyes, her poor boys. The house was just so small. Upon seeing her sons, one person she had not seen this morning suddenly popped into her head. "Hey, honey... Where's Sakura-chan?" she asked curiously, glancing around the place for the missing pinkette.

Kakashi looked around. "She must be using the basements' bathroom. Probably why all the boys were trying to use theirs." he shrugged in indifference, not really paying attention to all the commotion going on around him. He was thinking of the joy he'll have when he'll finally have the house to himself. He smiled sheepishly to himself and thought of all the things he could do. Like, walk around the house in only his boxers, fulfill all the things he wanted to do in Icha Icha Paradise... That was a whole other story. Unconsciously, he cleared his throat and blushed a bit.

Anko arched a brow at her husband when she noticed him blushing, she was starting to wonder what was going on in that little head of his. Shrugging it off, she nodded at his last comment and sipped her coffee. "If Konohamaru wasn't sleeping in our bedroom, I would have let them use our master bath." she muttered. Pouring a cup of orange juice for Shikamaru as he started walking towards them. "Here you go, sweetheart." she smiled towards her son, handing the glass over to him.

Shikamaru yawned and took the glass from his mom. "Thanks," he smiled, then proceeded to give his mom a kiss on the cheek. Then he turned back around and went back to getting ready, ducking as a duffel bag was thrown down the stairs carelessly. Shikamaru shouted something, and ran quickly back up the stairs.

She sniffled. "I can't believe my babies are leaving me all at once." a tear trailed down her cheek as she thought about it.

Kakashi almost -almost- groaned in annoyance. This wasn't the first time Anko cried over her boys leaving. The previous night, he had stayed up with Anko till three in the morning as she sobbed over her babies leaving her. He shook his head and placed his arm around her waist. "It's alright, they'll be back as soon as you know it." he said, rubbing his hand up and down her side as a sign of comfort for his near hysterics wife.

Anko sniffed and looked at her husband with sorrowful eyes. "I-I guess your right," she wiped her eyes away and nodded. "I just feel like they don't need me anymore." she mumbled, burying her head in her silver haired husbands shoulder.

Kakashi sighed and patted her back as she continued to soak his shirt with salty tears. "There, there, at least now we'll finally get that peace we wanted for so long... It has been nearly twenty years..." he mumbled quietly, images of an empty house coming back to him. He would have giggled like a school girl if his wife wasn't standing there.

Anko cried harder, her hands covering her face as she sobbed loudly. She managed to punch her insensitive husband in the arm and glare through tearful red eyes menacingly.

"Too soon?" he asked hesitantly, leaning away a bit to see his wife's face more clearly.

Anko nodded while wiping her nose against his shirt, not caring about how disgusting she was being. She thought he deserved it, especially after what he said not five minutes ago. She shook her head, thinking about how much of a pervert her husband was. She didn't even know why she asked herself what was going on in that head of his, it was obvious really.

Kakashi rubbed his temples with one hand while the other rubbed her back soothingly, there goes another shirt. He had thought while glancing down at the tear, and snot covered garment. He sighed, then looked up when heard shouts coming from his son's.

"Mom! Where's my Guitar?!"

"Mom! I can't find my shirt! You know? The one with the frogs!"

"Mother! Tell Sasuke to leave my hair supplies alone!"

"Mom! Tell Neji to stop acting gay, and get a life!"

" Troublesome. Mom! Will you tell these idiots to shut up!"

"Mom!!" they all shouted at once.

Anko lifted her head, and pushed Kakashi away from her (rather roughly might I add). Wiping the rest of her tears away, she ran to the stairs saying, "I'm coming!"

Kakashi shook his head and smiled slightly, listening as he heard his wife tell Sasuke to stop calling Neji gay.

"Hey, Kakashi. You ready for your house to be empty for the rest of a month and a half?" Sakura asked, walking into the kitchen so she could have a cup off coffee. "You gonna miss 'em?" she grinned.

The silver haired man shrugged. "Won't know till ya leave. Their my kids, sure I'll miss 'em. But I think the time away will give them a chance to learn how to really be on their own. It's good for them really, getting away from the nest will do them some good," he paused thoughtfully, while rubbing his chin. "Their mom might not see it that way, but it really is good. Just hope Anko will be able to make it through the rest of the month. I don't think I can handle her mood swings this early during her pregnancy." he joked with a low chuckle.

Sakura giggled in amusement. "Yeah. I can't wait to get to London, it's been a while since I've been there." she said with a small smile gracing her features.

Kakashi nodded. "I forgot your dad was assigned there a few years back. Did you get to visit all the amazing museums and stuff like that?" he asked, absentmindedly flipping through pages of his book.

The pinkette nodded. "You know me," she giggled, slightly embarrassed. "I had fun being there, it'll be good to see the place again." she said reminiscently, tapping her fingers against the counter as she remembered all the amazing places she had seen.

"Yeah, but what's different, you know? Is that you're going to be singing along with my sons' band, who knows..." he trailed off for added effect. "You could become famous." he stated, giving her a teasing smile.

Sakura flushed. "Oh, nononononononono," she shook her head quickly and blushed. "This is a one time thing, my parents would kill me if I became famous at such a young age, especially when I still have school to get through." she shook her head quickly. "I'm only doing this because... One.) Your son practically forced me. And two.) I'm just a nice person, and I hate to disappoint people." she grinned, taking a swig of her coffee.

He rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head and took another gulp of her drink then smiled a smile full of mirth and playfulness. "While everyone was sleeping, I loaded all my stuff in the car... I also changed the time on Itachi's clock." she stated giddily.

He gave her a look. "Genius. Evil. But a genius no less." he muttered, taking the extra time to read his precious Icha Icha, before he had to wave off his kids as they headed towards the airport.

The pinkette rolled her emerald green eyes at the man. Then as she waited, she looked at her watch while shouting. "GUYS! You got twenty minutes to get all your stuff in the car, and on our way to the airport!" she shouted loudly.

"We know!" was her simultaneous reply from the boys.

* * *

**On the Plane:**

**:~:**

"Oh awesome! First class! You go Itachi!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist in the air happily. Looking around the plane excitedly, while also thinking about whether or not they have ramen.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she looked for her seat. Looking from her ticket to the numbers, she finally stopped and smiled as she found it, but quickly frowned when she saw a familiar face. One she thought she'd never see again. "Kai?" she said in surprise. The Hatake boys looked towards the pinkette, upon hearing her surprised voice.

Said person looked up, eyes widened by surprise also. "Sakura? Is that you?" he asked in a deep voice. Standing to be polite.

_**`Omg! He knows our name! When did this happen?!'**_

_`We have Sasuke, there's no need for you to be fan-girl-ing at a time like this.'_

_**`I always wondered what it'd be like to be in the middle of a love triangle.'**_

_`Are you even listening?!'_

_**`Hm, did you say something?'**_

_`Forget it.'_

The pinkette blinked and smiled awkwardly at Kai. "Um, hi." she said with a sheepish wave.

Kai smiled. "Wow, you look great! It's been a while since I've seen you. I heard from Winry that you moved." he stated, giving her a one armed hug. Not noticing the death glare he had recieved at that moment.

Sakura blinked again, and patted his back as he hugged her. "Winry? Are you two dating now, or something?" she asked confusedly. Thinking her friend would have told her if she was dating someone. Especially if it was Kai!

He rubbed the back of his head. Still not noticing the many pairs of eyes staring at the pinkette and himself. "Oh, um, no. She was my partner in one of our classes, and I asked where you were." he said with a blush.

Sakura gaped. "Why would you want to know where I was?" she asked in confusion, tilting her head curiously in wonderment.

He blushed harder and looked anywhere but at her. "Um..." he trailed off nervously, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Sakura." said a deep voice from behind her.

She jumped and turned to see Sasuke, and every other Hatake staring at them. "Oh, Sasuke-kun!" she said with a smile. Making Kai narrow his eyes while standing behind her.

Sasuke looked at her, then at the guy that she seemed to know. The dark haired Hatake gave him a once over, then smirked, not intimidated in the least. That made Kai glare more than what was necessary.

"Hn, you going to introduce me to your _friend, _Sakura-chan?" Sasuke asked, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and squeezed her side a bit. Making it known to Kai that she was taken, and that he better back off. If the glare wasn't any indication, none of them knew what was.

"Oh, how rude of me," the pinkette turned around and gave Kai a smile, while she placed her hands on Sasuke's arms that were still around her. Oblivious to the tension that was coming from the two. "Sasuke-kun, this was a classmate of mine from my old school, Kai. And Kai, this is Sasuke, my-" she was cut off before she even had time to finish her sentence.

"I'm her boyfriend." the onyx eyed teen stated smugly. Holding Sakura more tighter to his chest. Sasuke pointed his thumb behind them. "And they are my brothers. The tall one with the long black hair is, Itachi. The one with the long brown hair is, Neji. With the spiked ponytail is, Shikamaru. The blonde is, Naruto. And the one with the short brown hair, and the other with red is Kiba and Gaara. Their twins." he stated, a hidden meaning behind his words that Sakura was still oblivious to.

_**`Hm, don't you mean old crush. I highly doubt Kai was a friend, this is probably the first conversation we had in like... ever.'**_

_`Come on, I only have my eyes for Sasuke. And truthfully, he's far more better looking that Kai anyway. Besides, any other time, I bet Kai wouldn't even give me the time of day.'_

_**`Not like we want it anyway.'**_

The pinkette smiled and nodded. "Yep, anyway, Kai. Why are you going to London?" she asked curiously. Absentmindedly playing with one of Sasuke's hands, rubbing her thumb along the pad of his palm.

Said boy, blinked and looked back at Sakura. "Oh, uh! I'm visiting my grandparents, they just recently moved there. And my parents sent me to come and help them unpack and get settled." he said with a blush and a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Sakura gushed. "Awwww! That's so sweet of you, missing school and all to help your grandparents! Isn't it Sasuke-kun?" she asked, turning to her boyfriend with a giddy smile.

Kai smirked smugly at Sasuke, while Sakura was turned around. Sasuke just scowled inwardly, and said through clinched teeth. "Yeah, sweet." he grunted, pulling Sakura a fraction closer. He refused to believe he was jealous. Overly possessive? Yes. Jealous? Nope... Okay~ maybe a little.

Kai looked back down at Sakura. "So what are you doing going to London?" he asked, ignoring Sasuke completely by now. Making the dark headed teen bristle in annoyance.

Sakura turned her head. "Oh, I'm helping Itachi and his band. There's a music contest, and they needed a female singer, and I was the only one available." she said, nodding her head in confirmation.

"Wow," he said. "I didn't know you could sing! Maybe I should come and listen to you... When is it?" he asked, giving Sasuke a cocky smirk. Making the now annoyed Hatake super pissed.

"Um..." she trailed off, tapping her jutted out lip with a finger as she thought about it. Which made her look super cute in Kai's eyes. Sasuke noticed, definitely not liking the turn of events.

"It's in a few weeks." she finally said with a small smile.

Kai smiled and nodded. "Cool, I'll see you there," he dug into his pocket and searched for a pen and a peice of paper. "Here's my cell number, give me a call when you know the date." he said, handing the paper over to her with a grin.

Sakura also smiled. "Okay. C'mon Sasuke, let's take our seats." she said, grabbing her boyfriends hand.

As she was about to sit next to Kai, where she was assigned. Sasuke grabbed her waist and made her sit on the seat next to the window. Making it so, he sat by Kai. Sakura smiled and kissed his cheek, thinking he did that so she could look out the window.

"Your so sweet Sasuke-kun." she giggled when he leaned over and kissed her neck. Both now completely oblivious to the boy sitting in the same row as them, who was glaring hatefully at the onyx eyed teen that was close to makin' out with _his_ girl.

:~:

Shikamaru and Itachi were watching as the jealousy rolled off Kai in waves, as he watched their brother and Sakura have one of their clueless moments.

The spiked haired brunette leaned closer to his brother and whispered, "Do you think we should keep an eye on him. I don't trust him. And it seems like Sakura only sees him as a friend, or an acquaintance. She doesn't even notice him sitting there anymore."

Itachi nodded. "Just leave it alone for now, we might not even see him again. So don't worry about it. Just make sure the guys knows what's up." he stated.

Shikamaru nodded and closed his eyes, hoping to get some shut eye. It was going to be a long month. "Troublesome."

* * *

**A/N; I'm back my lovelies! Okay people, there's the first chapter to the sequel! This is the day they left, and they next chapter will be like a week later, them being used to staying in London, practices and all that, think of it as a flashback of sorts. And I finally introduced Kai into the story, a reviewer kinda gave me an idea about them meeting or something, but that was during the whole hot-spring thing. So I took her/his idea and made so he's in London! Ha! **

**Next chapters will be longer. Expect some drama people~**

**Special Thanks, to: Kaamen, for giving me the idea, and also to the others who have stuck with me and to those who have giving me ideas! I hope to hear- er, read from yall again. You Rock!**


	2. Chapter2 Jealousy, Love, and Boys

**A/N; Hey meh peeps! Here's the second chapter. Now I'll remind you, this is like, a week later into the story, so yeah! Anyways! I'm super excited, I finally get to post my pride and joy! Not that I'm saying the second chapter, itself is my pride and lets not forget joy. But, I was using limited writing space in my AN in my first chap, so I'm making up for it. **

**Sorry for the earliness of the first chapter, I seriously thought it was August.... I'm such a doonard! XP**

**Alright, enough of my rambling and random-ness! Here you go, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, I also Don't own London, or any of the things I mention that may have come from that particular place._

**Warning: **_Slight OOC-ness... Humor... Other things that I can't think of at the moment_

_

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_Saying "I love you," is something that everybody has trouble with saying.  
__But when you know it's true, and you have the confidence to say it, and mean it.  
__Then you know it's the real thing.  
__But what you can't ever expect, is when the one you love...  
__Doesn't say it back.  
__Heart break can be a terrible thing to bare._

**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**

**.**

"Ah, I can't believe it's already been a week since we've been here!" exclaimed Naruto, a goofy grin marring his face. He wrapped his arm around Gaara and Neji's shoulders. "I mean, look at this place! It's so cool!" he shouted, running up a bit to admire all the things in a store as he leaned into the window.

Shikamaru and Sasuke rolled their eyes, continuing to walk forward. Ignoring the excited calls of their brother as he looked through every stores window.

"So," Shikamaru said, his hands deep in his pockets. He gave his brother a sideways glance. "Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you for the past week?" he asked, yawning slightly.

Sasuke shrugged. "Hn."

The lazy genius rolled his eyes. Deciding to take things into his owns hands, he continued on, "Hm, could it be because Sakura's busy practicing with Itachi, and so now she doesn't have time to spend with you?" he looked at his brother, looking for any kind of sign. "No?" he pondered for a second. "Could it because of that guy, Kai? Who happened to end up staying at the exact same hotel we, because ironically, he grandparents didn't have enough room, due to all the boxes from the move?" a glare and a low menacing growl was his immediate answer. "Aa. Well, that was easy." he said with a smug smile.

Sasuke grunted and turned his head to glare at his brother. "Hn," he scowled and slouched forward with his hands in his pockets. "Mind you're own business." he mumbled.

Shikamaru shook his head, smiling to himself. "Just so you know. He doesn't stand a chance," he turned to look at his little brother. "Sakura cares about you, don't let some guy try to get between you. I mean, c'mon man, you're slacking here." he joked, nudging his brother with his elbow. "I mean, really, not to be rude or anything. But Sakura would have to be an idiot. And really, you two have been throught too much to let some guy get in you're way.

Sasuke glared again. "Hn, shut up... I'm not worried about losing Sakura. It's just... that idiot really annoys me! Everytime I try to get alone with her, he always seems to be there! I hate it!" he hissed, his fist bawled angrily.

Before the other had time to say something, Neji popped up. "Why don't you take her somewhere later tonight. I heard there was going to be something for couples at one of the parks here. You could take her to that." he stated.

The onyx eyed teen raised a brow. "How long have you been listening?" he questioned curiously.

The long haired brunette shrugged. "Long enough to know that you're a jealous sap, who can't even keep his girlfriend away from a nobody." he stated, smirking at the dumbfounded looks he got from his brothers.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome. Neji, you're help is not needed.

Sasuke scowled. "Nor is it wanted." he muttered with a hint of malice. All he got was a smug smirk and a flick to the head and said something that only Sasuke could hear. Sasuke glared, tackling his brother and holding the long haired brunette in a head lock. "You want a repeat that you drag queen?!" the onyx eyed teen exclaimed.

Neji growled at the insult, and flipped his brother over on his back. "What you gonna do about it, chicken ass?!"

The two continued to wrestle around, the others watching in amusement. A few inoccent bystanders walked by and shook their heads, obviously not pleased.

Kiba held out a few bills. "Ten says Sasuke's gonna get his butt whooped."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know, Sasuke is rather sensitive when it comes to his hair." he said with a scratch of his chin. "He can be deadly when it comes down to it." he finished, holding out a few dollars, betting on his little brother.

Shikamaru added. "Yeah, but so is Neji." he dug into his pockets, then pulled out a few bills of his own. "I bet on Neji also."

The three shook hands, and watched as the two continued to fight in the middle of town.

They had all been walking the streets of London, going back to meet Itachi and Sakura at one of their many practices. They had left to go get lunch, and were now heading back to the concert hall. They laughed when Neji walked up to them, a prideful smirk plastered on his face. Sasuke was walking back up to them also, his hair everywhere, and a hateful glare directed at his brothers, trying to shrug them off when the leaned against him for support so they wouldn't fall from laughter.

* * *

"Sakura, you need to raise you're voice a bit more, you're singing too softly. Where's the passion, yeah?" Deidara questioned, holding Sakura's face against his palms. "Have you been doing those vocal exercises like I've been telling you to?" he asked, giving her a scrutinising look. "You're going to be terrible if you don't. And I do not have time to search all over London for another singer. So suck up, yeah!" he exclaimed, determination blazing in his cerulean eyes.

Sakura groaned. "Deidara, I'm tired, we've been practicing since early this morning. I need a break, the reason why I'm singing so softly is because I'm exhausted. Let me breath!" she whined, scowling as Deidara shook his head. She glared at him, and stated, "I can't keep singing songs like these over, and over. They take a lot out of me."

Itachi sighed and set his guitar to the side. "Deidara, she's right, ever since we've gotten here. All we've done was practice, we haven't even had time to enjoy London to the fullest! As soon as the others get here, we're leaving, and going somewhere fun." he stated, getting up from the stool he was sitting on and going over to his guitar case to put his up.

The blonde pouted. "Aw, c'mon Itachi! We've only practice two of the five songs we're supposed to sing. And I don't wanna walk around this place. Ever since we've arrived, I've been hit on in six different accents and ways, which is so not cool, yeah!" he exclaimed, anime tears trailed down his cheeks as he ran to hug Sasori. Whining about how all those ugly men tried to grope him, and one even tried to rape him in an alley.

Sakura giggled as she watched Sasori, awkwardly pat the neurotic blonde on the back, as to try an comfort him.

Sasori pulled the blonde away. "When were you ever alone to even get raped in an alley?" he asked curiously. Which caused the blonde to tell them all about what happened.

Sakura listened, giggling every once in a while, seeing how it was absolutely hilarious. She turned her head in the direction of the door when she heard the side doors open, and only to see Sasuke and the others walk in. Smiling happily, she ran into her boyfriends arms and hugged his neck tightly, giving him a big sloppy kiss on the cheek. Making sure to add the sound effects as she pulled away. She laughed halfheartedly when she saw him narrow his eyes in annoyance, but also saw a small trail of pink across his face. "Don't be mad Sasuke-kun, admit it you liked it." she whispered huskily in his ear.

She smirked when she felt him twitch as she trailed her hand along his spine softly, a relaxed smile gracing her features as he leaned into her. They were totally oblivious to everyone around them. They heard a few words from Itachi, he said they were just going to go, and that they'll see them later.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her shoulders and finally spoke. "You wanna go out tonight?" he asked, nipping at her neck everyonce in a while.

Sakura sighed happily, giggling as he buried his face in between the juncture of where her neck and shoulder met. "You mean like a date?" she asked, her eyes twinkling in hidden mischeif and wonderment.

Sasuke grunted and nodded, hiding his embarrassment by hiding his face in her neck. "Yeah, I can't tell you where we're going. It's a surprise." he said against her neck, kissing it softly.

The pinkette smiled. "Hm," she tapped her chin like she was thinking about it. Which made Sasuke pull away, looking at her as if she grown a second head. "Let me see, I could go back to my boring hotel room, and watch old movies, or spend an romantic night with the most greatest boyfriend in the world." she laughed at how gullible Sasuke was, when she told him how much of a great boyfriend he was. To her at least.

The onyx eyed teen let out a sigh, and took his girlfriends hand leading her out of the concert hall. Sakura smiled to herself, here she was, in one of the most romantic places in the world to be, only probably second to Paris. With her boyfriend, hand in hand, going on one of their first dates in London. To say she was ecstatic would definitely be an understatement.

She looked up at Sasuke, studying his features. His hair was messier than usual. Still sticking up in the back, but it didn't look like a duck butt as it usually looked. Like he had gotten into a fight, maybe. She threw that thought out of the window, and went back to studying him. He was wearing a black button up shirt, with dark blue jeans. His alabaster skin practically glowing in the moonlight. God, she fell in love with him all over again.

_**`God, we are so hooked. He's absolutely gorgeous! How did we ever end up with having someone like him?'**_

_`Don't question it, all that matters is that he's ours.'_

Sakura smiled at Sasuke, he returning it with a smirk. He lifted his hand up, and pointed at something up ahead.

Her emerald eyes followed his arm, till she was facing what he had been pointing at. Her eyes widened his surprise, tears prickled the edge of her eyes. She turned back to Sasuke with a shocked expression. "When? When did you have time to do this? Sasuke..." she trailed off, looking at the beautiful sight before her.

Sasuke smirked and led her over to the spot. "The guys had helped me a little, I was a little bumbed cause we haven't spent a lot of time together since we've been here. And I wanted to do something with you. So they helped me pick a private, quiet spot. And now here we are, all alone..." he trailed off, grasping her waist and holding her tightly against him.

Sakura arched a brow in amusement. "My, my Sasuke-kun, you've worked hard haven't you. Well, if you were trying to make me happy, you definitely succeeded in doing so." she stated, lifting her hands up, and cradling his face between her soft palms.

He unconcsiously leaned into her, sighing softly. Holding her against him. "It's been a while since we've been together. I mean, the day after we start goin' out again, we have to leave the Country." he said.

The pinkette nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled, pulling away she looked up into his deep black orbs. "I mean, when will we ever get to be here again. I can't even enjoy myself any, cause Deidara flips out whenever we're doing something other than practicing." she grumbled, a small pout marring her face. Her hands rubbing the nape of his neck, her fingers playing with the ends of his hair.

Sasuke chuckled, and motioned her to sit down on the blanket that was

Sakura smiled. "I still can't believe you organised us to have a picnic. This is so cliche, and romantic at the same time." she laughed, leaning over to kiss him softly on the lips. Opening her eyes, she felt her emotions surge full blast. "I love you." she said.

* * *

The door slammed open, and Sakura walked in. Her face red, and fists clinched in anger. She had looked like she had been crying.

All the guys watched as she stomped to her room, slamming the door shut, and a click coming from behind. Making it known that she had locked herself in and probably wasn't going to come out for the rest of the night.

Naruto and Kiba looked up from the game they were playing to observe the scene that was unfolding right before their eyes. The young blonde looked around. "Hey, where's Sas-"

Before the words could even leave his mouth, Sasuke walked in with a distressed look, his hand running through his hair. And his breath coming out shallow, it looked like he had just run a marathon.

Naruto blinked and muttered softly, not liking the way things were looking so far. "Nevermind." his blue eyes followed Sasuke's hunched over figure.

Shikamaru and Neji exchanged looks, and called out to their brother before he could step foot into his room. "Sasuke, what happened?" Itachi asked, standing up.

They didn't recieve an answer, just a slam of another door, and a click indicating that yet another was probably not going to come out for the rest of the night.

Neji stood from the chair he was sitting on, and walked over to his brothers. "What do you think happened? They both looked rather upset." he stated, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked from one door to the other.

Itachi sighed. "Looks like we're going to have to wait." he said.

Naruto shook his head. "You can wait, but I know Sasuke will let me in. I'll be back in a bit." he said, walking over to Sasuke's door, knocking softly.

The five watched as the blonde said something to the door, and it open slightly. And then stared shock as Naruto went in, closing the door behind him with a resounding click.

* * *

**A/N; Short I know. But surprising, yes. The dramas probably hitting rather quickly, but oh well. Anyway, I hoped you like. Please review guys. I at least want fifteen to twenty, even if it is just a simple word as update. I need to know if I'm doing things right. Now, if you don't like this chapter, I can rewrite so. Just tell me what you think. **

**Once again, please review. You're criticism is deeply appreciated.**


	3. Chapter3 Leaders, Confessing, and boys

**A/N; Alright you guys, thank for a the reviews! I got to the fifteen and more goal. Sorry if things have been a little slow. I wanted this chapter to be super long, and got everything in it. So enjoy!! **

**And one more thing, the formation of the band is just how it was in the prequel. **

**Itachi**

_Deidara_

_**Itachi/Deidara**_

Kisame

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters or the song "Thriller; by Fall Out Boy.  
****Warning: OOC Sasuke and others.**

_

_

* * *

_Love is the root that makes a relationship grow.  
Well, if that's true...  
Then what is a relationship with questions and insecurities?  
A relationship that's surely set to fail?  
Or one that grows during time?  
All these questions and no answers..._

**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style  
****Chapter.3**

**XoXoXoXoXo**

_"I love you."_

_"... What?" Sasuke asked, he blinked his eyes a few times as he tried to comprehend what his girlfriend had just said._

_Sakura titled her head to the side, surprised that Sasuke's answer had been, "what?". "Um... I said; I love you..." she trailed off uncertainly, feeling her heart plummet to the pits of her gut. She swallowed hard, her throat constricting painfully._

_Sasuke cleared his throat and sat up straight, intensely looking into her eyes. "Uh... are you sure?" he asked stupidly. Knowing instantly that something bad was going to happen._

_Sakura frowned, and looked down so he couldn't see the tears prickle the corner of her eyes. "Sasuke. I tell you I love you. And you answer me with questions? Sasuke... if you don't love me then that's all you have to sa-" she started to say, but was interrupted._

_"Sakura!" shouted a voice._

_Sasuke looked over the pinkette's shoulder and immediately scowled, muttering, "You have got to be kidding me..." glaring at the figure who had just walked up. Sasuke stood and helped Sakura up, swallowing as he noticed her tense._

_"Kai. Hey, what are you doing out here?" Sakura asked, standing next to Sasuke. Still greatly upset about the conversation that had just transpired between them. She blinked away the tears that had tried to fall and quickly smiled at Kai as he walked up to them._

_Kai smiled at Sakura, and nodded his head at Sasuke with a hidden scowl and a glare. "Oh, I was just checking out the sites." he said with a chuckle, answering her previous question._

_Sakura was about to say something, but Sasuke got there first. "Really? Site seeing, at.... Ten o'clock at night? Hm, what's opened at this time?" he asked in wonderment, his eyes wide in mock curiosity._

_Kai narrowed his eyes at the onyx eyed teen, muttering under his breath a; "Whatever" and went back to talking to Sakura, completely ignoring Sasuke. "So, what are you doing out here, Sak?" he asked with a blinding smile._

_The pinkette smiled politely, unconsciously grabbing Sasuke's hand. She didn't know why she did it. "Oh, Sasuke and I are on a date. We were just having a... conversation when you showed up." she said with a strained smile, thinking back to said conversation that she wished would have gone so much better than it did. She slowly let go of Sasuke's hand, not really feeling like touching him anymore._

_The newcomer nodded not really caring if he interrupted Sakura and Sasuke's date. "Ah, I'm sorry, did I interrupt something important?" he asked in false concern._

_Sasuke was about to say something, but Sakura interrupted before the words could leave his mouth. "Actually, um, we were just about to head back home," she said, her voice hoarse from trying to hold back her tears. "You wanna come with us, since, we do stay in the same hotel." she said with a small chuckle, trying to cover up her sadness with a smile._

_Kai didn't seem to notice Sakura's change in attitude, he was too busy staring at her chest to probably even care. But Sasuke noticed, he also noticed the lust filled gaze Kai was giving his girlfriend. He tried really hard not to just go up to him and punch the living day lights out of the jerk. But when he heard Sakura say that they were about to go home, his head __immediately snapped in Sakura's direction in surprise. He gave her a "what the heck," look. _

_She just glared and shrugged at him. She was mad, and he was feeling her wrath, he was lucky she didn't pound him into the ground. And with that, she and Kai walked off, leaving Sasuke to pack up the stuff he had laid out for their date. Bending down he quickly picked up the blanket and other stuff, and through the bag over his shoulder and ran to try and catch up with the two as they ignored him completely._

_As they crossed the street to get to the hotel a __picture of Kai getting run over crossed his mind a few times as he trailed behind them from a distance. When they finally went their separate ways, Sasuke had tried to talk to Sakura. But she just ignored him and stormed into their room. He sighed and did the same, ignoring the confused looks from his brothers and slamming the door to his room. Pacing back and forth, trying to figure out how he can explain to Sakura about what had happened. He heard a knock on his door and Naruto mutter something from the other side. Opening it, he let his blonde brother in and told him all that had happened. Hoping the blonde would help in some way._

* * *

**Two Days Later:**

`Yeah, what you critics said would never happen  
We dedicate this album to anybody, people said couldn't make it  
To the fans that held us down till everybody came around  
Welcome  
It's here!'

**`Last, summer we took threes across the board  
But by fall we were a cover story  
"Now in stores"  
Make us poster boys for your scene  
But we are not making an acceptance speech  
I found the safest place to keep all our old  
Mistakes  
Every dot coms refreshing for a journal update'**

_**`So long live the car crash hearts  
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life  
Fix me in forty five'**_

_**`So long live the car crash hearts  
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life  
Fix me in forty five'**_

**`I can take your problems away  
With a nod and wave  
Of my hand cause that's just the kind of boy  
That I am'**

**`The only thing I haven't done yet is die  
And it's me and my plus one at the afterlife  
Crowds are won and lost and won again  
But our hearts beat  
For the die hearts'**

_**`So long live the car crash hearts  
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life  
Fix me in forty five'**_

_**`So long live the car crash hearts**_

_**Cry on the couch all the poets come to life**_

_**Fix me in forty five'**_

**`Long live the car crash hearts'  
**_(Long live the car crash hearts)_

**`Long live the car crash hearts'  
**_(Long live the car crash hearts)_

**`Long live the car crash hearts  
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life  
Fix me in forty five'**

**_**

**_**

**_**

"So, what do you think?" asked Itachi as they band finished the song.

The six Hatake's and Sakura gave them a thumbs up. "It was great! Definitely top five in my books. It that one of the songs you're going to be using during the competition?" asked Sakura curiously, walking up on to the stage. Her pad and pen in her hand as she thought about what songs she wanted to sing for the contest.

Deidara shook his head. "No, yeah. It was just an old song that never got finished, till now at least." he said, frowning as he continued. "Pein gave us a call yesterday and told us that he had written all the songs out. Ones you're going to be singing also, yeah." he said in a melancholic tone of voice. It didn't take a genius to know that everyone was obviously disappointed about the news.

Sakura frowned her eyes wide in shock. "Why didn't you guys tell me about this? I though we were just going to use Konan's songs?!" she exclaimed her mouth gaped open.

Kisame sighed, putting his guitar back in it's case. "He's the "Leader". He's the one that brought the band up from the dust. Technically he has every right to make the decision's... Whether we like it or not." he muttered through clinched teeth, roughly shoving his guitar in it's case.

The pinkette crossed her arms. "I don't see how that's fair. You guys worked really hard to get where you are now. He has no right to make you just forget about all the songs you wanted to sing. This is you're big break, not his!! You worked too hard to get here to let him take it all away. You're the one singing! Not him!" she exclaimed.

_**`Oh yeah! You tell him like it is baby! Show them who's the real boss! CHA!'**_ Sakura's inner exclaimed proudly, fire burning in her eyes and her fist in the air.

Everyone arched their brows at Sakura, who was unconsciously posing exactly like her inner was in the middle of the stage. A dark atmosphere forming around her. Sakura didn't notice though, so she continued to rambled to Itachi and the other members, who, although were really creeped out. Patiently listened to what she had to say.

Naruto leaned over towards Kiba. "Sakura-chan's been really moody since her fight with Sasuke, two nights ago. Who'd thought the stick that crawled up Sasuke's butt would eventually crawl up hers too" he whispered quietly. Kiba snorted a laugh, and covered his mouth with his hand so as to not burst out into laughter.

Sakura's eyes flashed in the two brothers direction. She obviously heard them, and was definitely not happy with them making fun of her. She stomped over to them till she was directly in the blonde's face. Her eyes looked insane. "You wanna repeat that you little troll?!" she shouted menacingly, grabbing the collar of his shirt, shaking him roughly back and forth. Unconsciously proving the blonde's point.

She finally let go of Naruto and clenched her teeth at the both of them. Naruto and Kiba shrunk, sweat trailing down the back of their necks. They shook their heads swiftly and backed away. She turned back to the band members and smiled. "Itachi, can't you make a compromise with Pein? I'm sure he'd understand, I mean. You have every right to at least have some of you're songs played." she said in a matter-of-fact tone. Nodding at her idea confidently.

Itachi sighed and rubbed his temples in exhaustion. "Believe me, the last thing I want is to just use Pein and Konan's songs. But if we do something Pein doesn't like. It's our band that's going to be on the short end of the stick." he said.

She scoffed. "That's so bogus. You're like the scariest guy I've ever met. . . aside from Kisame and Sasori of course. I never met Pein before, but I'd think you'd totally be able to convince him or something if you threatened him discreetly." she rambled on.

Kisame chuckled and pointed at her while looking at the others. "Do you hear her? Hahaha, she said Itachi's scary!" he laughed loudly. Naruto, Deidara, and Kiba soon followed. A couple of chuckles coming from the ones who normally ever did anything but scowl, frown, or glare.

She pouted and slumped back into the seat she had been sitting on earlier. "You're just a bunch of wusses." she mumbled.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Come on guys, it's getting late. And I'd rather not deal with the manager of the hotel, again." he stated. Placing his guitar carefully in it's case. "Annoying moron. It's not like we play in the building..." he said the last part more to himself. Not noticing his brothers, Sakura, and his band-mates had already walked out of the auditorium.

The pinkette walked behind the others from a small distance. Not noticing when Sasuke fell behind the others and watched her from the corner of his eye, waiting for her to notice he was there.

When Sakura did finally notice Sasuke walking beside her, she tried her best to ignore him. It was hard. Even if he did hurt her by not returning her feelings in a way, it didn't mean she still didn't love him. She just didn't like him at the moment. Sighing, she finally looked up at him. "What is it, Sasuke?" she asked rubbing her temples.

The onyx-eyed Hatake cleared his throat. "What do you mean? It's been two days, Sakura. You won't even let me explain." he stated with a frown as he turned his head to look at her.

The pinkette scowled at him. "What's there to explain, Sasuke? Obviously you don't love me back! I mean, you questioned me about it. Who says "Are you sure?" and "What?" when someone confesses to you!" she exclaimed with a glare. The two had stopped, and didn't even notice that had gained an audience. Naruto tried to get the two to keep moving and talk about what they needed to somewhere private. They just ignored the blonde.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. "I was surprised! We've only just gotten back together! Look at us now, we're already in a fight!" he stated with a little force.

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's _you're _fault! We wouldn't be fighting if you'd have been a little more clear about you're feelings for me. Not leave me hanging!" she shouted.

He groaned and turned around with an exasperated sigh. "What did you expect," he said turning back towards her, gripping her shoulders lightly. He shook his head and let out a deep breath, not wanting to yell at her anymore. It was getting them nowhere, and he didn't like everyone staring at him. Before his spoke to her, he turned to the people who were watching them. "Shows over folks, back off!" he hissed. He took Sakura's hand and walked off. Leaving his brothers standing there in confusion.

* * *

Kiba turned to his brothers and the band members. "So... I guess the whole reason for them fighting was because Sasuke didn't say "I love you," back to Sakura... That's stupid." he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

Neji raised a brow. "What is?"

The dog lover crossed his arms and answered his brother's question. "I mean, she should have expected something like that from Sasuke. You know as well as I do that Sasuke's not good with showing emotions. I bet it takes everything he has to even hold her hand out in public. He's not the type to say I love you." he said.

Naruto nodded. "Kiba's right," everyone then turned to the blonde. "The only time Sasuke's ever going to say I love you is when it really counts. . . like at his wedding or on Sakura's death bed."

"Naruto!" Shikamaru reprimanded with a frown. The blonde shrugged and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with an apologetic smile. "This is such a drag." the lazy-genius murmured under his breath.

Itachi grunted. "It's none of our business. Just leave it to themselves." he said, walking away towards their hotel.

Neji shook his head. "Come on Itachi, you saw how Sasuke's been for the past two days. He's been a wreck." the long haired brunette stated.

Before Itachi could retort, Naruto's phone rang. "Talk to me!" he said with a grin. Which immediately turned into a scowl. "Karin? ....How'd you get my number.... No. I know I did not give you my number. I may not know what the square root of two means. But I _know _I did not give you my number," he pulled his phone away from his ear as Karin's loud voice flitted through the earpiece in high screeching shouts.

Kiba covered his ears, flashbacks of what happened coming back to him. He groaned and started to run up the sidewalk, wanting to get away from the screaming red-head. Just hearing her voice made him want to throw-up.

Gaara waved bye to his brothers, muttering that he'd meet them back at the hotel. He walked at a calm place to try and catch up with his twin brother.

Shikamaru and Neji stepped back a bit so they didn't have to hear Karin as much as they were. They knew that the day before they were supposed to leave for London, Naruto had broken up with Karin, apologised to Hinata for being an idiot and immediately changed his cell phone number and deleted and thrown everything he had of Karin away. Wanting her out of his life for good.

"No..... Karin.... Karin...... Ka-Karin...... Stop talking dammit!! We're over! We've been over..................... I swear you lay one hand on Hinata-chan's perfect little head........... I'll have Sakura-chan wrip you're throat out and feed it to the dogs............. Yes it's a threat......... You can't call the cops on me...... You've been to prison more than I have, liked they'd seriously believe you." he said, pacing up and down the sidewalk. "Karin, get this through you're head. I don't want you. I don't even know why I ever even wanted you. You're a backstabbing, tramp. Buh-bye!" and with that, he hung up on the prissy red-head.

Neji and Shikamaru smirked at their brother and patted him on the back. "Wow, I'm surprised. Never in all the time you had dated Karin, have I ever seen you stand up to her. I'm proud. You have bumped up from idiot to not-so-much of an idiot in one day. Good going... So, have you talked to Hinata since you've left?" he asked.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, we had a long talk the night before we left... She told me how she felt, and I told her I wasn't ready for another relationship. I need to forget everything that's ever happened between Karin and I. She's ruined my whole perspective on relationships and dating. If I'm going to start something with, Hinata.... I wanna do it right. She's too special of a girl to not have the very best. And I wanna be the best I can for her."

Itachi smirked. "Looks like someones grown up." he teased.

Naruto scowled. "Shut up. Do you know how hard it was to say all that in one breath?" he asked skeptically.

They all laughed.

* * *

"Sasuke, let go! I don't want to go anywhere with you right now!" Sakura shouted, trying to release herself from Sasuke's strong but gentle grip.

"Too bad," he hissed, not sparing her a glance as he led them through the trees of one of the parks Sasuke had managed to lead them in. "Sakura you should know by now that the only emotion I have ever showed you was slamming you up against the wall and shoving my mouth on to yours!" he stated, not caring if he was starting to blush.

Sakura scoffed and stopped trying to pull Sasuke's arm away from hers. "Please, that's only the emotion of pure lust!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke finally stopped and turned back around to face her. Grabbing her shoulders before she managed to run into him. "That may have been lust... but you were the first who has ever got to witness it." he muttered with embarrassment. He stared into her emerald green eyes. "Listen, and listen good. Cause this is probably the only time I'm ever going to say this." he said.

Sakura cocked her head to the side in confusion and nodded her head. "Okay..." she trailed off.

He took a deep breath and let it out softly. "Sakura. You were my first at everything. My first kiss, girlfriend. You name it you're the first. And I expect you to be the first for things we haven't done yet," he said, his eyes not faltering from hers. He smirked when she started to blush, obviously thinking about something naughty. "I may not show you the kind of attention you deserve. But I do care about you... More than you know, and I'd do anything for you..." he trailed off. He was searching for a reaction. She just nodded for him to continue. "Right... Anyway, I do love you. I'm just not going to say it as much as you would want me to. Alright? I'm sorry I upset you." he apologised, waiting for her to say something.

Sakura just stared up at him with tear filled eyes, she tried to hold them in, before she could wipe them away a sob broke through. Sasuke's eyes widened, thinking he had done something wrong. "Ah, crap!" he muttered under his breath. He cupped her cheeks between his palms and placed his forehead against hers and softly wiped her tears. "Hey, Sakura... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I- I take back what I said. Just forget this conversation even hap-"

"Shut up, Sasuke." Sakura said with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Immediately Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest tightly, not wanting to let her go. Sakura pulled away a little and rubbed her nose against his. Smiling she pecked him on the lips and spoke softly, "Thank you, Sasuke... You have no idea how happy you've just made me... I understand that it's not easy for you to show any emotions," she said, kissing him on the lips again. She had missed him, and was now making up for those two days she missed without him. "But you gotta understand Sasuke. You're also my first at everything, and just like you. I expect you to be the first for a lot of things... but sometimes I need that reassurance from you. Even if it's not you telling me you love me. There's a lot of other ways to show you care." she stated.

Sasuke arched a brow and chuckled softly. "Sakura... You know how I feel about you." he said, holding her waist tightly for added emphasis.

She nodded. "Of course I know. And if I didn't before, that speech you just made definitely proved it. I said I love you, because I wanted you know how much I care about you," she said with a warm smile. She spoke as she rubbed his cheek softly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy you told me you loved me. But I don't want you to say it to make me happy. I want you to say cause you want to." she whispered softly.

He nodded. "I did say because I wanted to. I love you, Sak'... Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." he muttered, tilting his head so he could kiss her firmly on the mouth.

She giggled while kissing him. She pulled away, almost laughing when she heard him grunt in protest, but reluctantly pulled away no less. "Come on, Sasuke. We have to get back to the hotel... It's my turn to make dinner." she stated, pulling away from Sasuke completely and walking back from where they came.

Sasuke sighed and followed, his hands dug in his pockets, and a small, barely noticeable smile gracing his features as he followed behind the pinkette. As he opened his mouth to say something, they turned as they heard someone calling out Sakura's name. Sasuke glared when he saw Kai running towards them like an idiot. He groaned under his breath and pulled Sakura towards him by the waist. Her back against his chest and her arms placed on his forearms as he held her.

She smiled at Kai and waved softly at him, smirking inwardly at how possessive Sasuke could be. "Hey, Kai." she said.

Said person nodded, trying to ignore the smug look Sasuke gave as he walked closer towards them. "Hey, Sak'... Sasuke." he muttered, but smiled as he put his attention on Sakura. "What's up?" he asked curiously.

Sakura smiled. "Sasuke and I are heading back to the hotel, if we don't get there soon, poor Naruto's going to complain about us not coming home quick enough to make ramen." she said with a roll of her eyes.

Kai chuckled and nodded. "Ah, that's cool. You mind if another joins?" he asked hopefully.

Sakura shook her head. "Sure, you can come. I don't mind. The more the merrier. Just don't expect any seconds, Naruto will probably have the whole pot eaten by the time you finish you're first bowl." she joked with a giggle. Grabbing Sasuke's arms, she she lead them back towards the hotel. Not noticing the look of pure hate that was directed at her and Sasuke from Kai.

* * *

**A/N; Okay folks. There you go. Sasuke and Sakura are finally back together, and it seems as though Kai is trying to mess things up for them. I hope you liked. Please review and tell me what you think. **

**Sorry for any mistakes.**


	4. Chapter4 Guests, New Comers, and Boys

**A/N; Hey people. I'm sorry about all the late updates. I've been super busy lately, but don't worry. I'm going to keep posting new chapters. Anyway, hope you like this chapter, as you can guess, there is going to be some drama. Now, if you read my authors notes. That's good, here's something for you.**

**I want you to pick songs from the bands I used in the prequel, any song, it doesn't matter. Also, if you have another band you might want, pick the song and I'll see if I can use it! Alright, that's it, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. Except Kai.**

**Warning; Lovey-dovey romance. OOC Sasuke... of course, you all know how hard it is for me to write an in character Sasuke in a romance story. Its impossible I tell you.**

**,**

_Did you ever wonder if you're girlfriend could ever  
just be friends with an old crush?  
No?  
Yeah, I didn't think so either...  
That is until... Hn._

**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys; European Style**

**.**

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kai walked awkwardly back to the hotel. Nobody had spoken a word. Sakura was too busy freaking out over how everyone was going to react to seeing Kai coming over to eat dinner with them. She knew Sasuke was having an inner battle with himself, she felt bad about putting him in a situation such as the one she was putting him in at that very moment, she knew he didn't like Kai all too much. And she knew Kai was planning something, she just didn't know what. Which kinda made her more worried, she didn't know why she was feeling so uneasy.

_**`Seriously, does he think we don't see what is going on? I mean, all of a sudden he's starting to like us. What's up with that?!' **_Sakura's inner exclaimed indignantly, crossing her white outlined arms in annoyance.

_`It is kind of weird. The only thing he knows about me is my name, and that's it. Poor Sasuke, he probably thinks I like Kai or something.' _Sakura thought, a little unnerved by the thought of Sasuke misinterperting her feelings for Kai, which was barely anything. The only thing she felt for her old classmate was just friendship. And she hoped Kai understood that.

_**`I doubt it, I think it's a bad idea to hang out with him anymore than we already are. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him... Wait, that doesn't sound right, I can throw him pretty far...' **_her inner muttered remembering the event that happened with her boyfriends blonde brother.

_`Yes... remember what we did to Naruto?'_

**_`How can I forget, that was my big debut! Haha, good times!' _**she cackled reminiscently.

_`Yep.' _Sakura nodded mentally.

_**`Anyway, I think we should try to keep away from Kai when we're alone. I seriously think he's trying to get between you and Sasuke. And refuse to let that happen, we almost lost him once. No thanks to you, by the way.'**_

_`Shut up, I got him to say he loves me. That's all that counts.'_

_**`Whatever.'**_

"Sakura?"

Sakura snapped out of her daze, and saw Sasuke waving his hand in front of her face. She smiled sheepishly and grabbed his hand and held it as he put it down back to his side. "Sorry," she looked around and noticed that she had been so engrossed with her conversation with her inner that she hadn't realised that they were already in the elevator. She looked to see Kai was nowhere in sight.

Sasuke noticing her confused look answered. "Hn, while you were in la-la land, Kai got a call from his grandparents and said that he'd come by later." he said in a deadpan. An annoyed look suddenly crossed his features and his fists clinched unconsciously.

She sighed and shook her head. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close and kissed his cheek softly, and smiled warmly. "Hm, really? Looks like we get an elevator all to ourselves." she almost laughed when she saw him quirk an amused eyebrow and smirk suggestively.

He pulled her close, burying his head into the crook of her neck, he spoke, "Really now? Hn, you know? I've never made out in an elevator..." he trailed off, smirk becoming ever more present when he saw a bright blush mar her pale features at the thought.

Smiling, Sakura leaned up to kiss Sasuke softly, giggling when she heard him growl as she pulled away. "Come on Sasuke! I'm not making out with you in an elevator. They have security cameras in here... Sasuke!" she whined the last part when he pulled her back to him and nipped and kissed at her neck. Sighing, Sakura gave up and let him have his way for just a little while longer. It wasn't like she wasn't enjoying the attention.

Before Sasuke could even reach her lips again, the elevator dinged and the door opened, making Sakura quickly push him away and walk out. He straightened his messed up shirt and hair, and walked out behind her, mentally sighing when he saw no one was outside the elevator. No one saw them, that was good. Save him and his girlfriend the embarrassment of someone actually seeing them. Though all the did was kiss, it was still weird when other people saw them do it. He dug his hands into his pockets and calmly walked beside her. "You think Naruto's flippin' out by now?" he asked conversationally.

She gave him a sideways glance and shrugged. "Probably, I bet he's bouncing off the walls and annoying everyone, though funny, he can sometimes be a bit too much." she said with a sheepish grin. He nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Gah! Where are they!?!?" Naruto shouted, pacing the den up and down as he glanced at the door every once in a while. The others all sat around the TV. Trying to ignore the annoyance, that which was Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed and leaned back against the arm of the couch, his feet propped up on the back, so that there was space for Gaara, Neji, and Kiba. "Troublesome; Be patient Naruto. They'll be here, you know what they're doing so stop making a big fuss about it." he snapped in aggravation.

The blonde pouted like a petulent child and turned away from his careless brothers. Scowling he went and sat over by the windowsill and slouched against the wall as he looked out the window.

Everyone rolled there eyes, but turned to the door when they heard the lock click. Of course, Naruto was first to greet Sakura and Sasuke as they walked through. Getting hit over the head by Sasuke when he hugged Sakura a bit too long for his onyx eyed brother's liking.

"Hn, Dobe." Sasuke smirked when he saw his brother turn a deep shade of red in anger and embarrassment, everyone watched in amusement as the two started insulting each other back and forth.

Sakura rolled her eyes and walked over to where everyone was sitting. "Hey, guys." she smiled at them and went to sit between Sasori and Gaara. They all waved and said monosyllabic words. She shook her head and took a deep breath. "So," she started, gaining the attention of half the boys in the room. "I invited Kai to come over and have dinner with us..." she trailed off with a hesitant smile.

That got every ones attention. Naruto and Sasuke even stopped arguing. They all just sat there and stared at the nervous pinkette as she fiddled with her thumbs. Kisame cleared his throat, the attention then turned to him. He smirked evilly and said, "Well, that just means we'll have to give him a warm _welcome." _he said the last word with a hidden meaning as he stood to go to his room and prepare for dinner. Hidan and Kakuzu following behind, small smirks on their faces as they went.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the three suspiciously. "You better not be planning something that's going to ruin my dinner... Kisame! I mean it!" she exclaimed, standing to prove a point. But they had already closed the door. She sighed and sat back against the chair in exhaustion, way too tired to argue.

Itachi started to get up also. "Well, seeing as we have a guest coming. Come Sakura, I'll help with dinner." he said walking over to the small kitchenette they had in there suite. The pinkette nodded and followed the older Hatake, the swinging door that lead into the kitchen closing behind them.

Naruto went to sit back on the couch, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair and laying his head in his hand. "What do you think Kisame is planning?" he asked curiously.

They shrugged and Neji spoke, leaning back into the couch to get more comfortable. "Whatever it is, I'm not getting involved, I seen how mad Sakura gets. I'm not taking any risks." he muttered, snatching the remote away from Tobi who had left the TV on a channel for little kids. "Besides. I'm sure with those three alone, they'll manage to make it where Kai will probably never want to be around us again." he stated with a nod.

The others slumped back into their seats and nodded also. Shikamaru sighed. ".... I need a cigarette." he muttered to himself.

Itachi gave his younger brother a skeptical look. "I thought you quit?" which really meant; "You better have quit, you little runt!" of course Itachi didn't say that, but the meaning was behind the words.

The lazy genius shrugged and poked at his leg in boredom. "Oh, I did. I'm just saying it would be nice to have one at the moment." he mumbled lazily with a yawn.

Kiba snorted. "Don't torture yourself with the temptation. It'll make you want it more." he said, petting Akamaru softly.

Shikamaru groaned and rubbed his temples. " Troublesome. . . Too late." he ground out, wishing Ino was with him at that moment. He missed her, but of course he wasn't going to let his brothers know that little fact.

They all laughed at the brunette and started talking about guy stuff.

* * *

"Hey guys, dinners almost ready!" Sakura shouted from behind the door twenty minutes later.

Of course, Naruto was the first to make it to the table, then the others followed along sluggishly. Sasuke was about to sit down when he heard a knock at the door. Thinking it was just Kai. He just sat down and started talking to Neji and Kiba about whatever. There was another few knocks on the door, and still no one went to answer. Sakura heard it and shouted,

"Can someone get that?!" she asked, hoping Sasuke wouldn't be such a jerk and just go answer the door. She was about to sigh, but then heard another few knocks. A vein ticked in her brow as she handed everything over to Itachi and stomped out of the kitchenette. Surprising everyone, she practically stomped over to the door, opening it, she smiled her best smile that was usually only reserved for Sasuke and happily welcomed the now very pleased Kai into the room.

_**`Yeah, that's right, you show him to never mess with a woman with pink hair!' **_her inner shouted with her fist thrust into the air.

_`Hush, I'm only doing this to get Sasuke's attention.' _Sakura reasoned mentally to her inner annoyance.

_**`Well,' **_her inner started to say. _**`You got you're wish. He's glaring you're way.' **_she stated.

_`Ah, so it's just me alone this time?' _she mentally asked.

_**`Hey, don't bring me into this, you can only flirt with another man for so long and not expect you're boyfriend to put the beat-down on said other man.' **_.

_`True, but Ino said this works for her all the time.'_

_**`That's my point.'**_

_`Ah.'_

Sasuke watched from the table the scene that was going on between his girlfriend and Kai, and it didn't take a genius to know that he was not happy. He knew Sakura would probably be mad because he didn't answer the door, but she didn't have to flirt with someone else to make a point of not getting on her bad side. Growling under his breath, he started to get up but felt a hand grab his arm and quickly pull him down. The temperamental teen turned to his older brother and glared with all his might.

Shikamaru sighed and leaned over towards his brother to whisper. "Calm down Sasuke, you troublesome idiot. She's just doing what every ticked off girl does. She's not going to do anything else, believe me." he stated matter-of-factly.

Still kind of mad about how Sakura was acting, he watched as the two conversed and wondered if she was ever going to stop talking to him. He was not jealous.

Sakura and Kai finally walked over to them, Kai looking as smug as ever and surely not hiding it from anyone else. Though to Sasuke's amazement, Sakura looked kinda guilty, either from doing something like that in front of him, or because she just toyed with another guys feelings just to prove a point to her boyfriend. He didn't care, just as long as she felt guilty about doing it. He sighed and stood up, taking her hand and leading her towards the kitchen, she didn't protest. He opened the swinging door to the kitchen and looked over to Itachi, "Sakura and I will finish up in here. I don't want to be around Kai so can you go in there?" he made it seem like a question, but he knew it was an order.

The elder Hatake nodded and walked. As soon as the door came to a stop, Sasuke directed his attention to Sakura, making the poor pinkette jump from the intensity in his eyes. He took in a deep breath so he wouldn't lash out at his girlfriend. "Okay," he said, exhaling his held breath. "Now, Shikamaru explained what you were doing. Now, why... out of all people, do you choose Kai?!" he exclaimed angrily, but Sakura could see the hurt in his onyx pools no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

She sighed, guilt and regret eating her insides. "Look, I know what you're thinking. But I wasn't flirting with Kai." she stated, placing her hands on Sasuke's shoulders so she could keep him from moving away from her. "We were just talking about the lame transportation they have here." she said with a snort and a shake of her head.

_`Of all things that guy could talk about...'_

_**`I know, who talks to a girl about cars. Psh, what a moron.'**_

_`Be nice.'_

_**`Chyeah, not gonna happen.'**_

Sasuke looked up in confusion. "What? But you were giggling... and laughing... and he was giggling- Which is really low might I add." he said with an unreadable gaze.

The pinkette shook her head again. "Come on Sasuke, like I would seriously flirt with someone when I have the best boyfriend any girl could ask for." she stated, pulling Sasuke by the shoulders so that her arms managed to wrap around him in a hug. Burying her face in his chest, breathing him in. God, she loved the way he smelled, she couldn't distinguish it, but she knew she would never find someone else who smelled like he did.

The onyx-eyed teen looked down to see his girlfriend's pink head of hair. "Are you sure you were only talking about transportation?" he asked skeptically, unconsciously wrapping his arms around her middle tight and burying his nose into her sweet smelling hair.

Sakura laughed and nodded against his chest. "Yes Sasuke, he was telling me why he was so late. He had to go see his grandparents, and on the way back the traffic was horrible and his cab driver almost killed them twice." she stated, looking back up into his eyes.

Sasuke nodded slowly, processing what she just said, then finally slumped against her. "Too bad, it would have been nice not to have to worry about that stupid, moron anymore." he muttered.

She gasped and smacked his chest. "Sasuke!" she laughed when he smirked at her. Rolling her eyes, she pushed away from him and walked over to the now finished ramen. "Come on, love. You can help me take the bowls out to the others." she said, handing a big tray over to Sasuke.

The dark haired teen nodded. "I'm surprised Naruto hasn't come crashing through the-"

As the words started to leave Sasuke's mouth, Naruto bounded through the kitchen, sliding across the floor in his socks. "WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG!!! I ain't getting any YOUNGER!!" the blonde exclaimed skidding to a halt before he crashed into the counter.

The couple sighed and shook their heads, handing the bowl over to the blonde. "Don't eat it too fast, Naruto." Sakura ordered sternly. Naruto waved her off and walked out again, eating his food happily. "Why do I even bother?" she asked herself, walking back over to Sasuke and placing the last of the bowls on the tray.

Sasuke shrugged and walked out carefully with the tray. Sighing, the pinkette followed behind her boyfriend begrudgingly, as she walked out of the kitchen. She saw Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu coming out of the room. Looking at them curiously, she asked. "Where have you three been, I would have at least expected you Kisame, to be exactly like Naruto and come bounding through the kitchen wanting you're food like some starved monkey... or shark." she teased with a grin, sitting next to Sasuke and breaking her chopsticks as he placed a bowl in front of her.

The three shrugged and sat down. Kisame was the first to speak. "While we were in the room, Pein called. I told him what we talked about earlier..." he trailed off, giving Sakura and Itachi looks.

The elder Hatake looked interested, swallowing his mouth of food down, he asked, "What did he say to that?"

The blue like man played with his drink for a minute. "He said; you, Deidara, and Sakura could all pick one song each and then sing the rest of his and Konan's." he muttered dryly. Standing he walked over to the kitchen. "Man, I need some sake. Sakura, where'd you hide it?" he asked before he went through the door.

The pinkette didn't look up in his direction. "In the freezer, hidden behind the frozen vegetables." she murmured loud enough for him to hear. Kisame nodded and walked through.

Itachi rubbed his temples in annoyance. "Well, that's brilliant." he said sarcastically.

Deidara scoffed and crossed his arms. "I can't believe the nerve of that guy. If I wasn't so dead-set on making a career in being in the band, I'd quit, yeah!" he stated with a glare.

Everyone watched the band members reactions, including Sakura's and Itachi's, they knew Deidara was upset, but the other two had to have been pissed.

Slamming her chopsticks down, Sakura growled and looked over at Itachi sternly, "Look, Itachi you have to talk to him. He has no right in doing this!" she protested.

The lead singer let out a breath. "I already tried talking to him, when he told me the first time that we were going to have to sing his songs. I know you're all upset, but there's not much I can do." he said.

She grit her teeth in agitation and looked down at her hands that were in her lap.

_`Man, this has got to be killing the other members.'_

_**`And I thought there'd be drama between them and Kai, now it's all about stupid Pein and the band.'**_

_`This is way more important than having my boyfriend and his brothers arguing with Kai. Get you're head out of you're little fantasy world.'_

_**`Tch, whatever.'**_

Shaking her head mentally, Sakura ignored her inner. Looking back up, something finally clicked. Smiling she spoke up, "I got it, why don't we just sing you're songs anyway. It's not like he's going to be here to tell you otherwise anyway." she stated with a giddy smile. Rather proud of herself for coming up with such a brilliant idea.

Sasori and Itachi looked between each other and the others, having a silent conversation. Clearing his throat, Itachi spoke. "You don't think we thought of that, like I said before. If we do anything to get on Pein's bad-"

"Bah!! Screw Pein and his lackey!! No matter what he says, this is our band. And he's not here to do anything about it, yeah!" Deidara shouted indignantly, his eyes shining in determination. "I vote we sing all the songs we were planning to in the first place. We have enough time to practice them, yeah." he said with a thoughtful nod, his thumb and finger rubbing his chin.

Everyone rolled their eyes at Deidara's dramatic display of protest. But nodded in agreement regardless, the floozy blonde was right. Akatsuki wasn't just Pein's band, and he had no right to act like it was. Sakura smiled in self satisfaction. "So it's settled, we just forget about Pein's music and focus on ours!" with that, everyone raised their glasses and clanged them together in cheers.

Not noticing Kai press stop on a recorder he had hidden in his pocket.

* * *

"Thanks for dinner Sakura, it was wonderful." Kai said an hour later after having dinner with everyone. "I hope to come over again soon." smiling he leaned forward to give her a hug goodbye. But was interrupted.

"Yeah, not gonna happen." stated Sasuke, pushing Kai away and slamming the door in his face. Sakura just stared at the space Kai once stood, then looked back up at Sasuke in anger. He looked down at her in care less manner. "What?"

Growling she stormed off. "You're a real jerk, you know that, right?" she asked sarcastically. Walking into her room, and trying to slam her door in his face but was stopped by Sasuke's foot. "Move Sasuke." she ground out through clinched teeth.

He scowled and pushed her back, gently, but firmly. "What'd I do now. Look, I can't help if I don't like other guys touching what's mine." he said with a shrug.

The pinkette glared at her stupid boyfriend menacingly. "I'm not you're property, Sasuke! I'm you're girlfriend. And I think I can choose my own friends without needing you're assessment in the matter." she said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms in aggravation.

Sasuke stood straight and dug his hands into his pants pockets. "That's right, you are my girlfriend. And I do have a right to tell you what friends are good for you and which ones aren't." he stated.

She scoffed. "What is you're problem with Kai? He hasn't done anything but treat me with kindness and respect!" she tried to reason.

"Please, the only reason he's even thinking of being nice to you is so he can get into you're pants!" he hissed, his eyes glaring at his girlfriend harshly.

Tears pulled at the corners of Sakura's eyes. Turning away from Sasuke so he wouldn't see her cry, in defeat she spoke. "Really, so is that why you're being nice to me, too?" she asked skeptically.

Sasuke gulped, knowing he had just made a huge mistake, but refused to back down. "Don't be stupid. You know how I feel about you... Look, I'm sorry, that just came out... I just. . . don't like that guy." he muttered, walking up behind her and nudging her a little. "There's something about him that doesn't feel right." he murmured softly, running his hands up and down the sad pinkette's arms.

Sakura gulped back down her sob and nodded slowly, still not turned away from Sasuke. "Okay... could you please go." she said softly, if Sasuke hadn't been right behind her, he might not have heard. But when he processed what she had said he glared at the back of her head.

"No, I'm not going anywhere." he said firmly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders tightly he pressed her back against his chest and buried his head in between his arms and her neck. "Promise you won't be alone with that guy... If you do, I won't bring him up ever again." he said softly against her ear. Making her shiver at the feel of his warm breath blowing against her cool skin.

She nodded in acceptance with a sigh, remembering the conversation she had with her inner earlier. "I promise." she felt him nod also, and place kisses gently down the back and side of her neck. "I love you," she whispered hoarsely through tears as they finally fell. She didn't know why she was so upset. Probably cause all she and Sasuke did since they got to London was just fight half the time. They were in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and they have yet to spend any quality time together like a real couple.

Sasuke was about to lean down to kiss Sakura, but heard some commotion in the leaving room.

"WHAT THE!!! SASUKE!!!" shouted Naruto, dramatically bounding into the room without knocking.

Sasuke turned to glare at his moron of an older brother and hissed through clinched teeth. "I'm a little busy here, Naruto. Go bother someone who cares!" he snapped.

The blonde shook his head from side to side fast and pointed down the hall. "Stop sucking face... We got a problem... Big, BIG problem!!" he proclaimed, walking up to his brother and pulling his arm harshly and yanking him out of the room.

"Dobe, if you don't let me go, I swear I'm going-" before he could finish his sentence as he looked up to see the most disgusting thing in the world. Sakura walked beside him and heard her gasp in shock.

"KARIN?!?!" they shouted in unison.

Naruto nodded frantically and threw his hands in the air. "I told you it was a problem!" he turned his head quickly to his ex. "What in the world are you doing here..." he trailed off for a minute then gasped and hid behind Sasuke in terror. "Oh my god, are you stalking me." he crossed his fingers in front of his face and held them out towards Karin. "Be gone Satan!!!" he hissed.

At his last comment, everyone tried to hold in their laughter and chuckles as the furious red headed new comer puffed up like a blow fish in indignation. Smiling sickeningly sweet, she flounced over to her blonde haired ex. "Awe baby, I know you don't mean that." she purred, running her pointer finger under Naruto's stubble chin up and down.

The blonde closed his mouth and glared at his ex girlfriend with malice, quickly moving his face away from her hands he stepped back and stood next to his brothers. "What are you doing here?" he asked through grit teeth.

She smiled, obviously not taking a hint. "Oh, seeing as my daddy's the head of the board, I managed to have all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors sent on a trip to, I think you can guess.... LONDON!!" she screeched happily, clapping her hands as she jumped up and down.

Everyone gaped at the girl and wondered if they were all just having the same nightmare. Sakura buried her face in Sasuke's shoulder as the red heads short, short skirt started to ride up as she continued to bounce. Everything finally clicking in their heads, Shikamaru was the first to speak. "Wait... does this mean you're staying at this hotel?" he asked curiously. Not knowing where Shikamaru, Karin just nodded.

The brothers excluding Sasuke and Itachi all looked between each other and quickly pulled out their phones dialing numbers they all knew too well.

"Ino,"

"Tenten,"

"Hinata-chan!"

"We're in room twenty-five hundred." the stated in unison.

Sakura finally understood and ran out the door heading towards the elevator happily. You could hear multiple girlish screams all through out the floor.

* * *

**A/N; Bet you weren't expecting that, I knew you were hoping something would happen between Kai and Sasuke, but that will all come in due time. Anyway, as you can see, my mind managed to have the girls come to London. I even had Karin return to ruin something. And obviously you can see something is up with Kai. Hmm, I wonder what. **

**Also, just to remind you, I really need you're opinion on some songs, doesn't matter. You can use the bands I used in the prequel or you can choose you're favorite band, just as long as I have songs for the Akatsuki and Sakura. **

**Alright. Hope you enjoyed, sorry for any mistakes.**

**REVIEW!!! Please!**


	5. Chapter5 Practice, Bad News, and Boys

**A/N; Hey guys, here is the fifth chapter to Sakura's Guide-Sequel. Hope you like.  
**

**Now I understand that being the gang is all together, to not think its going to be just a mealy cliche; its not. (I don't do cliches my friends. Unless its absolutely necessary) There is going to be drama the big one being Karin as you can guess, and what about the band, you can't seriously think all is going to go smoothly can you? And also the big elephant in the room. Kai. What do you think he's going to be planning? Heh, well you'll just have to wait and see. Cause I'm not telling.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the character, except for Kai and Winry. I also do not own "Paramore's Born For This"**

_Band formation:  
Sakura  
__**Itachi  
**_**All  
**_**Itachi-Deidara  
**__Sakura-Itachi__**  
**_

**_**

**_**

_Family and friendship are key ingredients to a happy life.  
They are there to support you,  
And be with you when things go bad.  
They are there for you in your time of need.  
Through thick and thin,  
you can count on them always being there for you.  
So never take it for granted.  
And never be ashamed to take them up on their offer of using their shoulder to cry on._

_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**_

_**.**_

"Oh my gawd! I can't believe you're actually here!" Sakura shouted as she hugged each one of her friends happily. "I thought I was going to spend the next month having to take care of these guys," she explained motioning to the boys that were now walking over towards them. The pinkette smiled at the three. "How long are you going to be here?" she asked curiously.

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata smiled at her, also happy to see her once again after so long. But frowned when they answered the question. Hinata was the one that spoke first, "We only get to be here for a few days. This trip is meant to be for educational purposes only, so we're probably not going to be seeing a lot of each other..." she said sadly with a disappointed frown.

Tenten spoke up this time. "Yeah, sucks but what else are we supposed to do? At least we get to spend the afternoons doing whatever we want." she said with a shrug. Her eyes widened happily when Neji walked up to her, then she jumped into his arms, giving him a soft peck on the cheek.

Sakura also frowned, apparently feeling bad that she was only going to get to see her friends for just a few days. Turning to Ino she finally realised that her long haired friend hadn't said much since they had arrived. The pinkette walked over to her friend. "Hey Pig, what's the matter?" she asked, noting at how pale the blonde girl looked.

Ino blinked repeatedly and looked at Sakura like she hadn't been standing there in front of her, all this time. "What?" she asked in a daze, her eyes boring confusion.

Sakura arched a brow worriedly and placed her hand over her friends forehead as if to check and see if she had a fever. "Are you okay, you were out of it just a few minutes ago?" she stated with confusion wondering what was up with her friend. "Ino-" she started to say then she noticed that the poor girl looked like she was about to cry, but her tears quickly disappeared as fast as they had came when Shikamaru had come out of nowhere and swiftly lifted Ino into the air and held her tightly. She didn't get to see how the blonde reacted seeing as the she had buried her head into Shikamaru's neck.

Shaking her head, Sakura turned and went over to Hinata, seeing as she was up against the wall with a solemn expression her eyes locked on something farther down the hall. Looking down to see what the lavender haired girl was looking at, she then noticed Naruto and Karin having a heated discussion with flailing arms and annoyed/infuriated expressions. Sakura placed her hand over her timid friends shoulder, making the small girl jump in surprise. Hinata blushed and pushed her fingers together nervously. "O-Oh, I'm s-sorry Sakura, I didn't see you there." she said timidly, her blush growing darker by the second.

The pinkette smiled and shook her head slightly. "It's fine Hina," she turned back to the two who were openly arguing. "Don't worry Hinata... He's not going to get back together with her. He likes you. Trust me." Sakura smiled at her friend again as the peal eyed girls blush turned into a deep crimson. She could have sworn she saw steam start to come out of the girls' ears from just the sheer embarrassment from her statement about Naruto liking her.

_**`Is it really that hard for her to believe, I mean really, a blind man could even see how much that idiot dotes on her.' **_Sakura's inner stated with a roll of her eyes.

The pinkette mentally shook her head. _`They're both oblivious to things right in front of them... It's hard to believe that they have made it this long without jumping the others bones.' _

_**`Wow, never thought I would hear you speak like that. It's something I would say, but anyway, you have a point. But what can we do, just let it go on it's own, Hinata's smart and Naruto does have a brain in there somewhere. Eventually they'll realise how much the other feels and they will be together.' **_Her inner said flippantly.

_`Wow, that was rather mature of you. Why do I get the feeling we've just swapped roles?'_

_**`It's probably those crumpets we had earlier today...'**_

_`And you're back.'_

Sakura sighed at her inner, not realising that she had done it out loud. She jumped when she felt arms wrap tightly around her middle, she looked to the side a slightly to see Sasuke's head leaning against her shoulder watching as Naruto argued animatedly with Karin. "I am beginning to think she is even bigger of an idiot than he is . . . can't she just take a hint?" he asked in annoyance.

Sakura smiled at her boyfriend. "Starting to feel sorry for your brother?" she asked skeptically with a smirk, grinning at Hinata who stood against the wall nervously.

He snorted, belatedly ignoring her previous question. "Hn." he grunted pulling away from her and leaning against the wall next to Hinata with his arms crossed over his chest.

She smiled knowingly and went back to watching her friends and their boyfriends hug and say how happy they were to see each other again. Though it was mostly Tenten and Ino being all happy. Speaking of Ino, Sakura frowned when she thought about what happened with her friend not twenty minutes earlier. She turned to Hinata. "Hey, is there something wrong with Ino?" she asked quietly so as to not direct any attention towards them.

The white eyed Hyuuga looked at her in confusion. "Well, she has been real down lately, I was just thinking it was because Shikamaru was gone. But then when we found out we were going to be able to see them, she still acted different . . . I don't want to make any assumptions or anything, maybe it's just jet lag or something, she seems okay now though..." she trailed off, turning her head slightly to watch her normally cheery friend smile without it reaching her eyes. The two frowned and watched worriedly, hoping there wasn't anything wrong with the Yamanaka.

"NARUTO!!! You jerk, it's because of that **whore **isn't it? You're banging her behind my back, aren't you?!" shouted Karin from down the hall, her head turned towards Hinata, and the red head's perfectly manicured finger pointing at the lavender haired girl accusingly.

Naruto groaned and face palmed himself. "How can I do something behind your back when we aren't even together?!" he cried out with exasperation and mental exhaustion.

The poor Hyuuga heiress unconsciously hid behind Sasuke, hoping his slightly larger body would obstruct the red heads view. Sasuke turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder with a raised brow. Then he rolled his eyes when he noticed the poor girl shrink down a few sizes in obvious nervousness. Karin stalked over towards where the others were, Naruto sighing exasperatedly and following right behind her, praying mentally that she would go the hell away and leave him the heck alone for once. He knew that if he let things go the way they were, Karin was going to start spouting nonsense and upsetting Hinata, it's bad enough she looks like she's about ready to pass out.

"Karin," Naruto hissed quickly grabbing her wrist before she got any closer to where Hinata was hiding behind his younger brother. The red head turned around a gave him a defiant look. "That's enough, I told you hundreds of times that we were over. What do I have to do to make you get that through your thick head?!" he exclaimed loudly, glaring at his ex harshly.

Karin yanked her wrist away and glared back at the blonde with the same ammount of intensity as he. Fixing her glasses she stared her boyfriend down, clearly not excepting their break-up. "How can you break up with me after all that we've been through? Huh? Did all those years mean nothing to you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him, fake tears coming in from the corner of her eyes.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his palms in aggravation. He just wanted her to go away and leave him alone.

Naruto's brothers noticed he was about ready to burst, so Itachi decided to step up, he stood in front of Karin, glaring at her hatefully. "I don't know what you want him to say, he's told you all that he could many times before. I think it's best you leave." he stated, being as polite as he possibly could be.

She scowled and crossed her arms and stood her ground. "Who asked you, you fag?!" she screeched. "I don't think I was talking to you, so why don't you go frolic in the park with one of your boyfriends." she ordered waving her hand towards the band members who were standing by their hotel room door, gaping at the brave red head who just called Itachi gay... This was not going to turn out well.

Everyone was silent as they watched Itachi warily, Naruto carefully placed his hands on his brother's shoulders, just in case the elder Hatake decided he was going to throw away his morales and put the beat down on Karin.

Then Sasuke pulled Karin harshly over to the elevator and pushed the button. She dug her nails into his arm and glared hatefully at him. "What do you think you're doing? I can sue you for assault!" she exclaimed trying to regain her balance as he pushed her in the elevator when the doors opened.

He gave her his ever famous glare that could turn anyone away from the coldness. "Hn, just go ahead and try. What gives you the right to insult my brothers like that? You might have been Naruto's girlfriend, but now you're not, so get over it!" He hissed, watching as her shocked face disappeared behind the doors. Sighing with a shake of his head he turned back to the others who all let out a breath of relief, grateful that the banshee was finally gone.

Sakura walked over to her boyfriend and looked at his arm where the blood was coming out from when Karin dug her nails into his forearm, the red head had even went as far as breaking through the skin. Kiba walked up behind her and whistled when his saw what the red head's nails did to his brother. "I hope you got all your rabies shots, 'cause if not I get the feeling you're going to be foaming at the mouth pretty soon." he stated with a chuckle, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere. Thankfully his little joke worked, but they could still feel the dark atmosphere that was surrounding Itachi spike every once in a while.

Sakura chuckled nervously and pushed everyone back towards the hotel room, she was worried some of the Hotel Security were going to come, Karin had been so loud she was surprised they hadn't charged in already. "Come on, you guys, the wicked witch of the earth is gone, lets go have some tea and scones." she suggested.

Tenten turned to her with a curious look. "They actually do that?"

The pinkette nodded. "Yeah, and you know what they have for lunch at these local cafes."

"What?" Tenten asked, intrigued.

"Little cucumber finger sandwiches!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

All the girls turned to Sakura now, curious of what else she had to say. Sasuke's girlfriend nodded frantically. "It's really annoying, especially when you have the two vacuums over there that go by the names of Naruto and Kiba." she sighed thrusting her thumb over to the two brothers who scowled at her. The three giggled at their friend quietly as they followed behind her, listening to her ramble about all the flaws London seemed to have. "-I mean seriously, when do you ever see mimes nowadays? Or those creepy robot guys- And yes, they really have those too." the pinkette continued haughtily.

So for half the night, everyone got to talk to each other and have fun, of course The Akatsuki made sure to note that Sakura had to get to bed early for practice they were going to have the next morning. The girls were sad they weren't going to get to see Sakura sing. But the pinkette had made sure that they were going to get to see her sing before they had to leave.

* * *

**Next Morning; Band Practice Auditorium: 5:00am**

Sakura yawned and rubbed her face, trying to shake the sleep out of her. She lazily walked up the stage, wrapping herself tightly in the hoodie she had stolen from Sasuke's bag, sitting down in the stool that was right next to Itachi, who was tweaking up his guitar.

He looked up at her, and smirked when he saw how tired she looked. "I told you to get to bed early." he stated cockily.

She glared at the evil Hatake, "I seriously didn't think we were going to get up this early. You're insane, Itachi, you know that right?" she muttered darkly.

Kisame laughed. "He knows it alright, he just doesn't seem to care."

Itachi scowled. "Enough, lets just get ready. Sakura, did you study the lyrics I gave you?" he asked turning away from the blue man and over to the drowsy pinkette.

She nodded and stood, knowing she was going to need to be hyper for a song like this. She hopped from one foot to the other trying to get loose, taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and listened as Itachi and Deidara started to play...

_`Oh no, I just keep on falling  
__**(Back to the same old)**__**  
**__And wheres hope when misery comes crawling?  
__**(Oh my way, Ay)**__**  
**__With your faith you'll trigger a landslide  
__(Victory)  
__To kill off this common sense of mind'_

_`It takes acquired minds  
To taste, to taste, to taste this wine  
You can't down it with your own eyes  
So we don't need the headlines  
We don't need the headlines  
We just want?'_

_**`We want the airwaves back  
We want the airwaves back'**_

_`Everybody sing  
Like its the last song you will ever sing  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure?  
Everybody live  
Like its the last day you will ever see  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?'_

_`Right now you're the only reason  
__**(I'm not letting go, Oh)  
**__And time out if every ones worth pleasing  
__**(Well ha-ha)  
**__You'll trigger a landslide  
__(Victory)  
__To kill off their finite state of mind'_

_`It takes acquired minds  
To taste, to taste, to taste this wine  
You can't down it with your eyes  
So we don't need the headlines  
No, we don't want your headlines  
We just want?'_

_**`We want the airwaves back  
We want the airwaves back'**_

_`Everybody sing  
Like its the last song you will ever sing  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel pressure?  
Everybody live  
Like its the last day you will ever see  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?  
Everybody sing  
Like its the last song you will ever sing  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure?'_

_`Alright, so you think you're ready?  
Okay, then you say it with me  
Go!'_

_`We were born for this'  
_**`We were born for this'**

_`Alright so you think you're ready?  
Okay, then you say it with me  
Go!'_

_`We were born for this'  
_**`We were born for this'  
**_`We were born for this'  
_**`We were born for this'**

_`We were born for  
We were born for...'_

_`Everybody sing!  
Like its the last song you will ever sing  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure?  
Everybody live  
Like its the last day you will ever see  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?  
Everybody sing  
Like its the last song you will ever sing  
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure?  
Tell me. tell me, do you feel the pressure?'_

_`We were born for this'  
_**`We were born for this'  
**_`We were born for this'  
_**`We were born for this'**

As the song ended, Sakura backed up into the stool and collapsed against it tiredly. "I swear you guys are killing me with these large vocal numbers. If I get strep throat, I'm blaming all on you." she muttered through clinched teeth, glaring pointedly at Itachi, who just shrugged nonchalantly and turned to tune his guitar.

Deidara grinned and stretched, his guitar hanging only by the strap. "Ah, that was a good practice though, for your first try at the song. Though you need to work on the chorus a little more." he advised.

Sakura nodded solemnly, thinking she would for once get something right. Deidara, noting the gloomy look, waved his hands and laughed nervously. "But don't worry, other than that, you pretty much get a perfect ten. R-Right guys?" he asked, urging them to agree by waving behind Sakura idiotically.

They just rolled their eyes, but grunted in acknowledgment no less. Deidara grinned at the pinkette and gave her a thumbs up and started to pull Sakura off the stage. "Alright girlie, you go sit in the audience while we get prepared to play one of my songs. Now don't fall asleep, we need your opinion on it alright, and then you're going to do a duet with Itachi." he ordered, checking off the things they were going to do for the rest of the morning on his fingers.

Sakura groaned as she listened to the blonde bass player, slouching into the red chair as far as she could, hoping she could just disappear and end up in her cushioned bed at the hotel and just sleep the nightmare which she was living, away! "Kill me now." she whispered under her breath in a melancholic tone.

* * *

Shikamaru walked out of the kitchen with a yawn, coffee in one hand a bisquit in the other, he never usually woke up as early as ten but Ino had called around nine to tell him that they had left around six and were now going towards a famous art museum then were going to stop and admire Big Ben. He rolled his eyes and took a long gulp of his coffee, his girlfriend was going to kill him one of these days.

"Hey," Sasuke said with a nod as he walked out of the bathroom with sweatpants on and a towel over his head. "... Is that coffee?" he asked skeptically, arching a brow at his brother and giving him a deeply confused look. "Since when do you drink coffee?" he asked curiously, walking over to the dining table his older brother was sitting at and stealing half of his bisquit.

Shikamaru swallowed the hot liquid soundly and placed the cup on the table while rubbing his temples. "Since my girlfriend took it upon herself to call me in the early hours of the morning. Geez, how else am I supposed to stay awake and listen to her yap her troublesome mouth the whole time. Coffee is the only thing that can keep me from falling asleep." he grumbled. "Dry your hair." he commanded.

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head. "Yes mother," he muttered. "You're so whipped."

"Look whos talking!" Snapped Shikamaru with a smug smirk at his younger brother's frown. "Mister I'll-come-pick-you-up-later-for-our-date-at-the-park."

The onyx eyed teen blushed and turned his head away from his brother out of embarrassment. "Hn." he grunted, acting like he wasn't paying attention to the lazy genius.

Shikamaru continued to smirk, but jumped a little when he felt his phone vibrate from his back pocket. "Hello? ....Dad?"

That caught Sasuke's attention, he looked at his brother then motioned for the elder to put it on speaker phone. They heard a slight rustling then their dad clear his throat. Right at that moment Gaara and Neji walked out of their rooms, and over to where the two were sitting around the phone.

_"Hey Shikamaru." _Kakashi said from the speaker.

"Dad. Sasuke, Neji, and Gaara are here also." Shikamaru informed, the three all muttered some form of "hey" to their dad.

_"Hey, fellas. Great to hear all of you are well. I'm guessing Naruto and Kiba are probably still asleep?"_ they knew it was more of a statement, but they answered it like it was a question.

"Yeah," Neji spoke up. "And Itachi and the others are at the concert hall. What's up?" he asked.

_"Um... How do I say this- Man, I hate telling you this over the phone." _they heard their dad sigh loudly, they could see him scratching his chin with his mask down and his little orange book in the other hand.

Gaara walked closer and leaned his elbows on the table. "What's the matter?"

_"Ah, no hello to your dear old papa Panda-chan?" _Kakashi teased his youngest.

"Dad." the red head muttered darkly, glaring at the electronic object.

"Really dad, seriously what's going on?" Sasuke finally spoke up in annoyance.

They could hear their dad sigh again. _"Uh, it's about your mother," _

The boys went pale as they heard this.

_"She, uh- She fell, and she's in the hospital... They're not sure if the baby is going to make it..." _their silver haired father trailed off.

They didn't say a word for a while, then Shikamaru gained some control over his frenzied emotions. "Is she okay? I mean..."

_"Yeah, she broke her arm, and other than the fact of being upset about the news of the baby, everything else is fine. She just misses you guys is all." _he said.

Sasuke rubbed his temples. "How are you holding up?"

_"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, just worried about your mother... Look, I only called to inform you, just incase your mother... lost the baby, I wanted you to be prepared for it." _he reassured them, if only a little.

"Do you need us to come home?" Neji asked, sitting down next to Sasuke and looking down at the wooden table.

_"No, no, no. You guys stay up there till you were assigned to come back, besides, I heard your class was up there for a field trip. Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you about. I'll call if I hear any news. Um, I'd rather tell Kiba and Naruto myself, so maybe later could you have them call me. And, make that Itachi too. That's it, love you guys."_

"You too." they said in unison, they heard the click from the other line, indicating their father had hung up.

Shikamaru placed his phone back in his pocket and stared at his half empty mug of coffee. All was quite, until Naruto came out of his room with a large grin, only to stop in his tracks at all the solemn looks his brothers had. "What's the matter."

They all snapped out of their dazes and stood. Neji shook his head at his blonde brother. "Nothing you need to worry about at the moment, go wake up Kiba, he doesn't need to sleep in so late." he ordered.

Naruto blinked a few times and nodded, thinking it best not to argue just this once and went back down the hall to get his younger brother. The long haired brunette let out a breath and turned to his brothers. "That was close, no matter how we're feeling we can't let those two know what's going on with mom till dad talks to them later." he stated.

Shikamaru groaned and leaned his head against his arms. "This is such a drag."

They all nodded, agreeing whole heartily with their genius of a brother.

* * *

**A/N; There you go, you didn't expect something like that did ya? Who knew I could be so evil. Anyway, what's going to happen to the baby, and how are Kiba and Naruto going to react to the news of their precious mother being in the hospital? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. Sorry for any mistakes.**

**Also Please give me some ideas on what songs you want me to use! I would really appreciate it! Thank you!**_  
_


	6. Chapter 6 Reacting, Dates, and Boys

**A/N; Okay, here you go, the sixth chapter, please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.  
**

**Warning (man, its been a while since I had one of these,lol) Family bonding OOC-ness, Mushiness, fluffy-duffys! You have been warned.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**_Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style_**

_How do you know when something bad is bound to happen?  
Is there a sign?  
Maybe the atmosphere changes around that someone,  
They act different, they're more distant.  
If there is something wrong.  
What can you do to help that person?_

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"What the heck is up with you guys?!" Kiba asked suspiciously as he looked at Neji, ever since the night before, all his brothers had been acting weird. And he was starting to get a little annoyed, and not only that, Itachi had disappeared off somewhere and hadn't been seen for nearly twelve hours. The elder Hatake had stormed out a few minutes after he and the Akatsuki arrived from band practice. They had all tried calling his cell, but they either got his voice-mail, or the voice that states the owner of the phone had turned it off.

Kiba was beginning to think something was wrong, but didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"What do you mean, Kiba?" Neji asked, his eyes not fully looking into his little brothers' worried brown ones.

The dog lover snorted and narrowed his eyes. "Don't give me that, you guys have been acting weird since Naruto and I stepped into the room last night. What's goin' on?" he exclaimed desperately.

The long haired brunette shook his head and sighed. "Its not mine, or anyone elses place to tell, you have to understand that-"

"Don't you dare give me that, saying something like that only makes it worse for me!" the younger hissed through clinched teeth, he didn't give his brother time to reply before he had grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the hotel room.

At that moment, Sasuke and Sakura had walked into the room. The onyx eyed teen stared at the door for a minute before he turned to his elder brother, nudging Sakura toward the kitchen. He walked over to his brother, grateful that his pinkette had taken the hint and left to go keep herself busy. "Did you tell him?" he asked, obviously meaning Kiba.

Neji shook his head swiftly. "Lord no, kami, I don't think I'd be able to keep my nerve if I were to tell him... Hows Naruto? Shikamaru told me that dad decided to just tell Itachi and him together. and to just tell Kiba when he was alone."

Sasuke sighed loudly and slumped against the wall. "Hes been buried under his covers since he found out, Hinata's going to stop by later and see if she can get him out." he stated. His eyes looked out the window in a far-off haze. "He didn't even come out for ramen..."

Neji leaned his forehead against the table. "Wow."

"That's what I said."

"So did dad say when he was going to talk to Kiba? Or do you not know?" Neji asked curiously.

Sasuke gave a halfhearted shrug. "Ask Shikamaru, he should know," he said. After a moment he spoke again. "Have you heard from, Itachi-nii?" he asked.

Neji shook his head. "After us calling him twenty times he finally decided to turn his phone off. I'm sure he's fine though."

Sasuke nodded, running a hand through his disheveled locks, he chuckled thoughtfully. "Just a week ago we were upset about mom being pregnant again," once again he had a far away look in his eyes, Neji tilted his head to the side, waiting for his brother to continue. "Now look at us, we're all walking on ice, waiting for dad to tell us that mom is okay and that the baby is going to be fine." he chuckled with strain and swallowed the lump in his throat.

The long haired brunette stayed quite, not really knowing how to comment, until finally he spoke. "You know... I kind of expected Naruto to go off on a blind rage."

Sasuke blinked and focused confused onyx eyes back on his older brother. "Why would you say that?"

Neji shrugged. "You know how the dobe is... He always takes things to irrationally, he's a spontaneous person, and be it anger or happiness he's always on the move... I would have never guessed he'd be so put off by a tragedy..." he trailed off.

"She's not dead." Sasuke hissed through clinched teeth. "Why are you acting like somethings already went wrong. Mothers fall all the time and even though they're low in numbers, the baby makes it sometimes. Don't start jumping to conclusions."

"Sasuke right now, you're the one who is jumping to conclusions. You're reading too deeply into my words. I did not mean anything by them." Neji stated.

Sasuke growled in frustration. "How can you be so calm during all this?" he asked.

"Because there is nothing I can do." was Neji's sharp and curt reply. With narrowed pearl eyes, Neji stared at his brother intently. "I am worried about mother just like everyone else, but what good am I if I'm sulking under my bedroom covers, or walking out, or even sleeping my troubles away. Like you said, nothing bad has happened other than what father has already told us, I'm trying to keep my emotions in check and be there for Gaara and Kiba if anything more were to happen." he stated.

The dark haired teen stared at his older brother. "Neji-"

"Go wake up Shikamaru." was all Neji said, looking away from the younger and turning his attention towards the TV.

Sasuke sighed and walked away without a word, he could tell today was not going to be one of the best. And what was worse, their father still had, as of yet to tell Kiba what was going on. Out of all of them, Kiba was the one closest to their mother, besides Gaara, of course. But Kiba was the one that liked to spend his weekends with their mother instead of going out with his friends or staying cooped up in their rooms like everyone else did. Sasuke knew Kiba was going to take it worse than all of them, but the brunette was always more emotional than the rest of them, he was the type to wear his heart out on his sleeve. You could know what he was thinking without even having to ask, and that worried Sasuke. A lot.

Knocking on the door to the room where Neji and Shikamaru shared, the onyx eyed teen could hear the tired groan from his older brother and the shuffling as the lazy elder opened the door with sleep filled eyes.

"Wha' you wan'?" Shikamaru slurred sleepily, then lifted a hand to cover a yawn.

"Neji wants you up." was Sasuke's only reply.

The brunette nodded and scratched the back of his head, his hair was down, he noticed, and it was sticking up in odd angles. His eyes were lined with dark circles of not being able to get rest. He had left the door open and silently went back into the room to look for a hair tie and some clothes. He was in his boxers and didn't want to deal with another lecture from Sakura about modesty when in the presence of a "lady".

Sasuke shook his head and leaned against the doorway as he watched his brother hunt around for a hairband. "Did you get any sleep at all last night?" he asked with worried eyes.

"Nope." was the curt reply.

The younger of the two shook his head. "That's not like you. Usually you just sleep through everything that's going on around you?"

"I had a lot on my mind. Remember, I was the one with Naruto when dad told him and Itachi?"

"How did that go?"

"You don't want to know... But I was the one left with him. Itachi left as soon as he heard, and I was left to try and keep Naruto calm, he was freaking out." Shikamaru murmured and pulled on a tee shirt, while he was doing so, Sasuke noticed a dark black and purple bruise forming on his hip.. "Itachi should have been there." Shikamaru stated.

Sasuke looked back up at Shikamaru with weary eyes, but decided not to comment on the bruise, knowing it was probably Naruto who hit him. "Yeah, he should have. But truthfully... I think we're all overreacting." Sasuke said.

"Neji tell you that?" Shikamaru asked with a raised brow.

Sasuke looked away. "Not in those exact words."

The brunette rubbed his face, then placed his hand around his neck. "Its not against the law to react the way we are all reacting... Even if whats happened wasn't necessarily a straight out tragedy, its still something bad. Mom might have a miscarriage, and something bad could go wrong and she might not be able-"

"I get it." Sasuke interjected before the elder could go on.

Shikamaru nodded. "That's good, they're not overreacting, despite what Neji may think. Its completely normal. I'm just mad that Itachi had to disappear when obviously he was needed here." he grumbled. "I swear I was so close to going out and buying me a pack of cigarettes and smoking them all." he stated.

"Its a good thing you didn't." Sasuke muttered.

Shikamaru chuckled. "Whatever, come on... I believe we got a blonde that needs to get out of his room." he said walking past his brother.

Sasuke nodded and followed his brother.

XxXXxXXxX

"You know, its not good to keep things bottled up." Sakura said to Neji as she leaned against the doorway next to the kitchen.

The long haired brunette looked up at the emerald eyed girl with a stoic expression. "I don't see how that has anything to do with what's going on?"

"Sure you do," she said as she walked over to sit across from him at the table. "I may not know what you're going through, but being rude to your brothers that are going through the same thing as you, is definitely not the best direction to go in." she stated, looking him straight in the eyes.

"You're right," he agreed standing up and narrowing his eyes at her. "You don't know what I'm going through-"

"Knock it off, Neji." stated a stern voice.

The two looked up to see Itachi walking in to the room, his eyes locked on his brother. Neji frowned and looked away, while Sakura just stood and walked away down the hall, leaving the two to their business. Itachi waited till Sakura was fully gone before he spoke, he motioned for his brother to sit back down.

"She was just trying to help, and she's got a point . . . we can't act like we don't care in front of the others." his dark eyes staring into Neji's intently.

Neji glared with a slight scowl. "I don't see what the big deal is, its not like she's dying!" he exclaimed.

"Who?" another voice asked.

The two turned in surprise to see Kiba standing at the door with a frantic look. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing to worry about Kiba-" Itachi started to say, never taking his eyes, that had turned a deep shade of red and black, away from Neji.

"You're lying! What's going on that you're not telling me?!" he asked, his eyes wide with uneasiness.

Itachi glared at Neji, hard. Shaking his head the elder Hatake walked over to their youngest brother. "Really, Kiba... Now's not the best time to talk about this..." he trailed off.

"Is it about mom?" He asked, but when he received no instant answer, he knew it had to be the truth. "What happened? Look, I already figured half of it out, so just tell me already!" he shouted.

Itachi sighed and rubbed his temples. "Mom fell down a flight of stairs," he paused when he saw his brother's nearly broken expression, Itachi swallowed hard and had a strained voice as he continued. "She broke her arm and is in the hospital being taken care of, Dad said that everything was alright for now... But they're not sure if the baby is going to make it." he finished, carefully placing his hands over his brother's shoulders, Itachi lead Kiba to one of the sofas and sat him down gently, he crouched in front of him and didn't remove his hands from the brunettes shoulders. "Listen, I know this is hard, especially seeing as we're in another Country, but you need to be strong alright, you have to believe mom is going to make it through this all right, okay?" he asked softly.

The spiked haired brunette nodded stiffly, his eyes betraying how he was on the outside. Neji and Itachi could clearly see the emotional distress Kiba was going through.

Itachi stared at his brother with hidden concern, he was starting to regret even bringing up the conversation with Neji. Seeing as it lead to giving his little brother some the worst news he could ever receive, without even meaning to. Patting Kiba on the head reassuringly he stood, "I have to go call dad, you should talk to him, come on." he urged the young teen as he walked down the hall where the rooms were located. Kiba obliged without any complaint and the two left, leaving an upset Neji to himself.

Neji knew he wasn't being a very supportive brother, but it's not like there was anything he could do. He was as good at showing how he was feeling as Gaara was at having a full nights sleep. He wouldn't know how to comfort anyone. He obviously didn't know the full situation with his mother and didn't want to give his siblings false hopes. Anything could happen and destiny worked in mysterious ways. The long haired brunette slumped against his chair exhaustively, rubbing his temples and muttering under his breath, "This is what I get for growing up with brothers who barely showed anything close to having emotions!"

XxXXxXXxX

Naruto mumbled something incoherent as he heard the door to his room open, and two sets of feet walk in without permission. "Go away." he growled menacingly, still under the covers. The blonde heard a snort and a grunt as his reply, but what he did not hear, was the sweet sound of footsteps leaving and a door closing behind them. "What do you want?" he whined irritably. "And I swear, if you're Neji coming in hear and telling me to suck it up, I swear to kami I will decapitate you!"

"Big words for someone with such a tiny brain." was the smartelic response.

The teen under the covers groaned and tried to bury himself deeper under the covers. "Crap, its someone far worse!" he whined again.

Sasuke scowled and launched himself at his brother. "C'mon, Dobe! Wakey-wakey!" he growled, pushing and pulling his brother back and forth, shaking him awake non too gently.

Shikamaru sat back, watching in miled amusement as his brothers started to fight, shaking his head he chuckled under his breath and cleared his throat loudly. The two stopped instantly, and looked over at him curiously. With a raised brow and a small smirk, he spoke. "Now that you two have stopped messing around with each other," he paused at that part and nearly burst into laughter when he saw the horrified looks he got from the two.

Sasuke had immediately smothered Naruto with his orange pillow and shoved him off the bed, while Naruto struggled to get out of the blankets, and then rubbed his head vigorously as a bump started to form. The lazy-genius yawned with a small smile, it was always good to watch those two act like best friends one minute, and then completely hate each other the next when one of their persona's started to break.

"Come on you two, Naruto, put some clothes on before you step out, Sakura's here." he finished with another yawn. Sasuke walked away from his blonde brother, his hands in his pockets as he followed behind Shikamaru with a look of nonchalance.

Naruto scowled and snapped. "Since when did you revert back to your younger, more annoying self. I think I liked the emotionally constipated you better."

Sasuke swiftly turned his head back around to look over his shoulder, giving Naruto his famous death glare. The blonde just waved him off as he started to pull on a tee shirt, already used the dark haired teens glares. "Stop your whining, now get out so I can get dressed!" he snapped with grin.

The onyx eyed teen ignored his older brother's smirk as they walked back down the hall towards the den. "Stop that." he muttered indicating to the look his brother was giving him.

Shikamaru chuckled and ruffled his brothers hair affectionately. "No matter how you seem to perceive yourself, you will always be the Sasu-chan who used to beg us for piggy-back rides."

Sasuke looked mortified and spluttered his words indignantly. He looked utterly abashed, it was greatly amusing to the genius, it was always nice to see one of his brothers cold exteriors melt away. Rare occasions that definitely needed to be appreciated. Shaking his head, Shikamaru covered his mouth to hide a laugh as his brother continued to gape, and then quickly recover his slip and then proceed to protest against his brother's ridiculous accusations.

"Are you seriously trying to deny the truth, little brother?" Itachi's voice asked from behind them.

The two turned around, only to see Gaara and Itachi standing there. Sasuke scowled in annoyance. "Don't call me that!" he snapped.

"Call you what?" was his girlfriends reply as she stepped out of her room and walked over towards them. Sakura smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Sasuke cleared his throat to hide the nervousness in his voice. "Nothing that concerns you, love." he murmured in her ear.

She pouted cutely, giggling as she watched the others blanch and hurriedly walk away from her and Sasuke's innocent acts of affection towards each other.

"What are you doing?" she asked, running her hands through his hair as she hugged him around the shoulders.

He thought about it for a minute, then smirked. "Whatever you wanna do." he relished in the delighted smile he got from her at his answer.

She kissed him on the lips lovingly, pulling back, only to giggle when she heard him grunt in protest. "Come on, Sasuke-kun. We haven't gotten to spend much time together since we've gotten here," she looked down solemnly. "I want us to do something together, the last time we went out didn't turn out so good." she muttered sadly, burying her face into his neck and breathing in his scent, that was utterly Sasuke.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around his girlfriend tightly, leaning his head back to kiss her on the forehead. "Alright, you plan the whole day out, and I won't make any complaints. But we have to be back before dark, you have an early practice tomorrow, and I'd rather not have Deidara and Hidan chewing my jugular out." he joked halfheartedly and slightly serious.

The pinkette smiled and laughed a gut wrenching, and heart-soaring laugh as she nodded and skipped away.

Sasuke just stood there in a daze, only to blink when he felt a hand pat his shoulder lightly. He looked to his left to see Naruto staring at him with a foxy smile, wiping away a fake tear Naruto gushed and wrapped his arms around his little brother tight. "AWE!! MY LITTLE SASU-CHAN IS GROWING UP SO FAST!!!" he cooed at the top of his lungs.

A bright red blushed smoothed out across Sasuke's cheeks as he heard a loud boisterous guffaw from his girlfriend and everyone else in the other room. Glaring heatedly at his blonde idiotic brother that loves making him the most embarrassed teen on the planet. He roughly slapped Naruto's hand away and begrudgingly walked into the next room, only to see Sakura stifling her laughs as she waited by the door, many pairs of eyes following his hunched figure with smug smirks. As he walked out he heard Naruto call out.

"Don't do anything I would do!! Be good Sasu-chan!!"

He growled when he heard his brothers laugh along with Naruto as he finally closed the door.

Naruto chuckled deeply and leaned back against the couch, looking at the tv and watching Tobi and Kisame focus intensely on a game they were both playing, and failing miserably at trying to find the concept of the thing. He was afraid the horridly colored, shark-impersonating, intimidatingly tall, Kisame was going to break his controller out of mere frustration. Naruto refrained himself from snatching the innocent plastic controller away from Kisame's death like grip, from fear of having his head chewed off.

"Why do you tease him so much? You know that's why he's the way he is today." Itachi chastised halfheartedly.

The blonde shrugged in nonchalance. "Nah, Sasuke knows I'm only playing, and Sakura will find it cute, she calls him that now anyway. And it's not like I say it to anyone else." he stated with a wave.

The elder sighed, though he hid a smirk by tilting his head a bit. He opened his mouth to comment, only to pause when he saw Kiba walk out with the phone clutched to his hand. He had forgotten that the younger teen had still been talking to their father. "Hey, how'd it go?" he asked.

All eyes turned to the dog loving brunette curiously. The Akatsuki members took a hint, knowing it was time to leave them be to their family matters. The six walked out, and down the hall to their perspective rooms.

Kiba sighed deeply and tossed the phone on to the couch and sat himself down stiffly into a chair. "He said everything was fine, mom's awake, as they were talking to me, the doctor was just coming in to run some tests on the baby's current status." he stated with an uneasy look, obviously worried.

"... And?" Neji urged softly.

Kiba ran a shaky hand through his hair. "They'll get the results tomorrow." he muttered.

The room was silent after that, a tense atmosphere started to spread around them uneasily. Then they heard Naruto chuckled with a strained tint. "Ironic isn't it? Something terrible actually happens to mom and we're not even around to comfort her." he eyes started to turn glassy and he lifted the hood to his jacket over his head tucked his knees against his chest and buried his face against them.

Gaara leaned his head back against the arm of the couch and looked up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. "Nothing has happened yet, don't get upset, you'll make Kiba cry." he tried to joke, getting a few snorts out of two of his six brothers.

Naruto looked back up and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no use getting upset over something that hasn't happened yet," he stated, then his gaze faltered a bit. "So, um, you guys wanna go get something to eat?"

They all nodded and got up only to stop when they heard a small knock on the door, Gaara walked over and opened, only to be immediately pushed out of the way as Ino, Tenten, and Hinata walked in with multiple bags in their small hands. They smiled at them.

"Hey guys!" Tenten exclaimed, setting the bags down by the door. "What you up to?" she asked curiously.

Neji walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We were just about to go and get something to eat, you guys wanna come?" he asked.

Hinata spoke up. "We'd love to, I mean, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course it is, besides, you probably know what's the best place to go to get a decent meal around here!" Naruto stated with a large grin as he wrapped his arms around Hinata's delicate shoulders.

Kiba pulled out his cell to look at the time. "Well, it's settled then, c'mon lets go, I'm starving!" at that, they all piled out of the door.

Shikamaru followed only to pause when he realised his girlfriend was still standing in the middle of the room with a dazed look. He arched a brow curiously and walked over to stand in front of her. "Hey, Ino?" he asked with a worried look. He was beginning to notice how different his girlfriend had been acting lately and wondered what was wrong.

The blonde girl blinked repetedly and looked up to stare into Shikamaru's eyes, she noticed everyone was gone and wondered how long she had been out of it. "Huh, Shika? Where did everyone go?"

"Uh, well we were going to get something to eat, but I believe there is something more important... Is there something that you're not telling me?" he asked, his eyes searching hers.

Ino sighed and frowned, she took his hands into hers and held them tightly. "Shika... We need to talk."

_XxXXxXXxX_

_tbc...._

_XxXXxXXxX_

**A/N; Hahah, I'm so evil, I just leave you hangin' like that. Well, anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm proud of it actually, even though the guys were a little OOC, I think I got some good stuff in this. Please, Please tell me what you think! I'm hoping for like over ten reviews, I know I'm bein' picky, but I need some feedback here.**

**Constructive criticism would be nice, maybe some song ideas too, tell me what you want to happen to Anko, and what you want to happen between Ino and Shikamaru, tell me how you want Sasuke and Sakura's date to go! ANYTHING!! **

**I apologise for any mistakes, my computer has been a real jerk, and for some reason I couldn't use the lines. So the x's are just going to have to make due for now. Sorry. Please ignore the top with the title and all. I know it's messed up but I couldn't fix it.**

**Review please!  
**

**~blonde insomniac~**


	7. Chapter7 Bad News, Good News, and Boys

**A/N; **_Alright you guys, so here is the sixth chapter... seven? I don't know! I'm so tired right now!  
Anyway, as you can see, this particular "authors note" is a diffy! Why? Because the bold takes up too much space when you're about to write something like this.  
Okay, first off! I love you! Ha, lol, anyway, no seriously. You guys have been SO awesome, I don't know what I would have done without you, and second... get this. For the first time, EVER!!! I have written a rough draft, for this chapter actually. Why? Well, if you must know. This is the chapter where you are going to find out EVERYTHING!! No cliffie's, yay! Seriously, I don't know why, but this chapter is really important to me, you may not think so, but it is. lol anywho....  
Now you can jump up and down in your seats! Cause here's the next chappie!_

lol. after my disclaimer and warning that is... Oh, and the title, lolzz, im a doonard, and I am also on a Saosin high! Just downloaded their new cd!!

**Disclaimer: All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto! **

**Warning: Drama! Lots of it, OOC-ness... that is all...**

_**`Inner-Sakura'  
**__`Sakura'  
"Phone talk"_

* * *

**_Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style_**

_Love, that's all you need._

* * *

Shikamaru and Ino stood in the middle of the room, awkwardly. She was shuffling her feet against the carpet nervously, and he just stood there, swallowing the lump that seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat, he knew what always came after the phrase "We need to talk," and it never turned out good. He tried to come up with things he could have done wrong over the previous weeks, his grey eyes searched her beautiful cerulean blue hues, trying to find something that could tell him what was wrong.

Taking her face in his hands, he rubbed the pads of his thumbs against her cheeks softly. "Ino...?"

Upon hearing his voice, her eyes snapped away from his and looked anywhere but in front of her, where the love of her life stood. The news she was about to tell him could change their lifes for good or for bad. Grudging up some courage in her erratically beating heart, she inhaled and exhaled, muttering what little words she could form. "Promise me you won't be upset..." she whispered, rubbing at her eyes as tears started to form at the corners.

Shikamaru scrunched his face up in confusion and immediately shook his head in denial. "Baby... Ino, what's going on, what aren't you telling me? I-I can't do anything for you if you don't tell me what's wrong..." he paused and wiped away some of her tears that had trailed down her cheeks. "Is it, Temari? Has she been bothering you since I've left?" he asked.

The blonde shook her head "no" and finally let the tears fall freely, a choked sob broke through her throat and she held on to one of Shikamaru's hands.

Shikamaru immediately started to worry, he didn't know what was wrong. "Ino... Ino, babe, you're scaring me..." he trailed off, dread was starting to seep through him when he saw how broken his girlfriend looked.

Ino swallowed and tried to hold back the sobs so she could form full sentences. "Shika... I went to the doctor two days after you left... I haven't been feeling myself lately and I wanted to know what was wrong, they said I-"

"You're pregnant?" he muttered with a blank face.

The blonde shook her head quickly. "No! ... No, no... But god... I wish I was!" she smiled a small, sad, and defeated smile. "Shika... The doctors say that there is a possibility-- That I might have Leukemia." she whispered hoarsely.

"No." was his immediate answer, he pulled his arm away from Ino's hands and shook his head vigorously. "No... Tha- that's not... What do you mean possibility?! What kind of bull is that?! You're not sick, period!" he exclaimed, his eyes straining from holding back tears that so desperately wanted to fall. How was a person supposed to act to that sort of news?

She tugged at her hands together shakily and looked down. "I have to take more tests when I get back home... Shika... I am so sorry, I didn't mean to put this sort of pressure on you now, god of all times. Especially with what happened to your mom. I... I just wanted you to be ready." she whispered.

He closed his eyes tightly and backed up into the wall, sliding down and leaning against his knees as they tucked under his chin. Ino covered her mouth as she saw her long time boyfriend breakdown right in front of her, in all her years with being friends and then eventually dating, Shikamaru. Never, not once has she ever seen him cry. "Shika," she said softly, walking over and then kneeling in front of him. Slowly she moved his arms and nudged herself between his legs and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, letting out a shuddered sigh when she felt him wrap his arms around her shoulders and bury his face between the crook where her neck and shoulder met.

"I love you." he stated brokenly as tears continued to fall down his cheeks and on to her skin. "I know I don't say it as much as I should, but I do. I love you so much-" a sob broke through his throat as his mind began to think about what he was going to do if she actually had cancer. His whole world revolved around the one woman that was in his arms at that very moment. What was he supposed to do without her?

"Stop it." he heard her whisper, it took a minute to process what she had said, her face had been snuggled against his chest.

"Stop what?" he muttered.

"Stop thinking about depressing stuff... We don't know for sure, it could be a fluke." she tried to reason.

"What if it's not... What if you-" his stomach churned in protest as the words died down in his throat and stayed there. He couldn't even finish his sentence without feeling sick to his guts.

"Hey, hey, hey... No," she shook her head and rubbed his cheek reassuringly, she even managed to give him a warm smile. "None of that, alright? I want you to promise me, no matter what... You won't let this bring you down, okay? Promise me, Shikamaru." she looked into his eyes sternly. She wanted that conformation, she wanted to know that if there was a chance that she could have cancer, she didn't want him to spend his days mourning over her.

Shikamaru nodded hesitantly. "I promise... Now I want you to promise me something."

"Anything." she said, rubbing his jaw.

"Promise me- promise me that you won't give up, not without a fight." he said, narrowing his eyes, daring her to refuse.

She smiled with small nod. "I promise Shika, I won't give up." then she moved closer to him and kissed him softly on the lips. "I love you." she whispered as she pulled away.

* * *

"Hey, where's Shikamaru and Ino?" Naruto asked curiously as they walked into a small diner.

"Ino just sent me a text. They're just gonna order in and spend some time together." Tenten stated as she put her phone away and into her pocket.

Hinata furrowed her brows. "Have any of you noticed the way Ino-chan has been acting?"

Naruto raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, she's just been really closed off lately... She's been sick for a while and even had to go to the doctor. I wonder if somethings wrong..." she trailed off, thinking to herself.

Tenten nodded and started to worry. "Yeah, I hope it was nothing serious. Ever since then, she's been so into herself, and it looks like she has gotten skinnier."

Neji noticed how sad his girlfriend was becoming and just wrapped his arm around her for comfort. "I'm sure it is nothing serious. Don't worry." he reassured.

The brunette smiled at her caring boyfriend. "Awe, you're so sweet, Neji!" she cooed softly, rubbing her palm against his smooth, defined jaw.

Neji blushed when he heard his brothers snicker, scowling at them he walked ahead, faster. "Whatever lets just hurry up and order." as soon as those words left his mouth, someone they did not expect came up to take their orders.

He spoke without even looking up at them. "Hi, my name is Kai and I'll be your server for this evening, what would you like to have for drinks." he finally looked up, he had a smile on his face, only for it to turn down a little when he realised who he was going to have to serve.

The guys all seemed to tense when they saw him, and the girls just looked at them in confusion. "Do you know this guy, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked curiously.

The blonde inclined his head slightly. "Yeah, he used to go to school with Sakura, he's staying the same hotel as us."

Oblivious, Tenten smiled politely at their waiter. "Hi, it's nice meeting you, I'm Tenten. I'm one of Sakura's friends." she stuck her hand out to shake his.

Kai smiled back at the brunette and shook it. "Hello, sorry to sound rushed, what would you like to order." he gave an apologetic smile. "My boss is a real pain."

Tenten blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'd like, um... What does this mean?" she asked, then pointed to something on the menu.

Their waiter chuckled and explained to her patiently. After some confusion with all their orders, they finally got what they wanted, all eating in peace. Every once in a while, one of the brothers would glare at Kai, knowing he was up to something. And what infuriated them, was that Hinata and Tenten were eating up his false kindness like it was candy. Naruto snorted indignantly when he saw Hinata blush and giggle slightly when Kai had told her something as he placed her desert in front of her. Never in his days would he think that he would ever feel jealous over a guy talking to Hinata.

Okay, that was stupid, of course he would feel jealous over some other guy talking to his girl. That's right, he considered her his, because frankly; even though they technically weren't dating... Okay, they haven't even talked about it, but so what.

"Naruto-kun?"

His train of thought was cut off when Hinata softly nudged him on the shoulder and called his name out shyly. He blinked his blue eyes curiously and looked around only to notice his everybody was walking out of the restaurant. Smiling he got up and started to walk out. "Sorry Hinata-chan, I was in my own little world." he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he opened the door for her to walk out of.

The Hyuuga heiress smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Naruto."

Things became quiet as the walked at a slow space, following behind the others at a small distance. Naruto was having trouble with coming up with ways he could ask her out. He figured it had been long enough. "Um, so Hina' what do you think about goi-"

"Come on you guys!!" Tenten shouted out to them excitedly, she was pointing over to one of the buildings.

The two looked only to see that their was going to be a play showing soon, apparently they wanted to see it. Naruto fell over as Hinata smiled brightly and started running over to the others. He was so close, so, so close, and he missed it. Getting up reluctantly, slouching as he walked over to his family and friends. Neji gave him an apologetic look. Knowing exactly what his younger brother was trying to do earlier.

"Sorry, I tried to stop her, but she already had the words out of her mouth."

"You should think about putting a muzzle on her." Naruto sulked, a depressing atmosphere started to hang over his head.

Neji shook the comment off like it was nothing, knowing his little brother didn't mean anything by it and was just upset for missing his chance.

"Do we have to go in there? This sort of thing is for girls..." Kiba whined as they stood in front of the doors of the building. Gaara didn't seem all to happy either.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Do you want to be on Tenten's bad side?"

"Does it really matter? She's already mad at me for letting Akamaru pee on her new shoes she bought earlier." the dog loving brunette shrugged with a wolfish grin.

Neji sighed. "Fine, you guys go do what you want. But me us back here within the next hour in a half. And god, please don't do anything stupid... You know what," he said looking over at The Akatsuki members. "Do any of you mind going with them?" he asked.

They shook their heads and Kisame spoke up, "We don't mind, come on you little punks. We'll take you to this really cool music store, they teach ya how to play the guitar for free." he said as they walked away.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke walked along the streets of London, hand in hand, completely content. Sakura had a bright smile that just seemed to make her emerald green eyes shine with life. And Sasuke, as you may have guessed, just walked along beside his pinkette, just happy to be with her, though on the outside he looked as if he was dying of boredom, making poor Sakura look like one of those oblivious floozies that liked to call themselves his fan-girls.

"So," Sakura started, interrupting their peaceful silence. "Where do you want to go first? I know you don't want to walk around the whole time."

Sasuke shrugged and looked around, not even knowing what direction they were headed in. "Hn, I told you before, this date is all about you. Besides, I'm completely lost right now." he chuckled sheepishly.

She giggled at how adorable he was. "It's fine, Sasuke-kun. Anyway, I know where we're going, and just because you say this date is all for me, doesn't mean I don't want your opinion on things." she stated.

He nodded but didn't say anything, he just followed along with Sakura at his side. He watched with amusement as Sakura's head looked around in all directions out of curiosity, amazed by all the shops and cafes London had along its streets. His looked around also, noticing how hectic it was. Shops were filled to the brim, restaurants had piles of people waiting outside, the walkways were crowded with tourists who were taking pictures of anything and everything. Then it finally clicked in his head, he was considered as one of those "tourists", also. I mean two Japanese teens walking around; one with shockingly pink hair, and the other with spiked ebony hair that strangely seemed to defy gravity. Oh yeah, they didn't stand out at all; Note the sarcasm.

"Oh! Look, Sasuke-kun, there's Hyde Park!!" she exclaimed excitedly, pointing in the direction of some stone columns that looked like a gate, and then proceeded to drag him across the street... without even bothering to look.

"Huh?" he asked stupidly, too busy worrying for his life than to think about some silly park. There are parks all over the world, what was so special about this one?

His pinkette shook her head and stopped on the sidewalk when they finally made it to the other side, and in one piece. "Geez Sasuke-kun, haven't you ever heard of Hyde Park? It's read to be one of the most romantic and beautiful parks in London!" She squealed and looked around in all directions. "You should see it at night, it's so beautiful, and sometimes in winter they have a Ferris wheel." she looked on at the scenery in a daze. She marveled at the stone pillars that seemed to be the entrance to the park.

He rolled his eyes at her cheesiness. "Well, don't just stand there like a moron, lets go and check this place out." he tugged on her wrist gently and walked forward.

Sakura smiled up at her boyfriend. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"You wanna go see The Upside-down Tree?" she asked curiously as they walked along the park's path. Couples were walking, also, hand in hand. And there were birds and squirls all around. She "aww'd" when she saw an old couple snuggle up to each other on a bench and feed the birds.

He looked at her like she was insane. "The what?" rolling his eyes when he saw her heart filled eyes as she gazed at the older couple.

"The Upside-down Tree. Geez Sasuke, don't you know anything about London?" she asked skeptically as she looked around at other things.

He grunted and stuffed his hands into his pockets. What did it matter? So what if he hadn't read up on London, it's not like he had planned on making any trips any time soon. "Hn."

She sighed and lead him along the path. "Well," she smiled as they came upon an interesting sight. "Here we are." she smiled.

He looked to see a tree that actually seemed to be upside down, there was a little hole that seemed to be fit for people to go in. Sakura pulled him along and lead him inside. He looked around with little interest, he wasn't too excited about the tree, being he couldn't help it as his mind wondered to the person standing next to him. He wasn't all for the PDA, but seeing as they were in an enclosed area, he might as well take his chance while it lasted. Without missing a beat, he tugged on her wrist, making her stumble right on to his chest. Smirking down at her, he leaned forward and kissed her on her lips softly. Smugly grinning in his head when she immediately responded to his ministrations.

When the need for air became to great, he pulled back and held her close to his chest. He grunted when he heard her giggle. "What?" he asked, somewhat annoyed that she had managed to ruin another peaceful silence.

Sakura looked up at him with warm eyes. "Who knew your cold exterior was all just an act... You can be really romantic when you want to, Sasuke-kun." she stated innocently, backing away slightly with a mischievous grin.

He snorted at how ridiculous her accusation turned out to be. "Yeah, I'm as romantic as Shikamaru is at being a good player in football."

She tilted her head. "Isn't he?"

"No. He's just sets the plays. He can't catch a football to save his life... and he's so thin, the others would snap him like a twig; without even meaning to!" he scoffed.

She burst out laughing and even had to grip the front of his shirt to keep from falling over. "You're so funny, Sasuke." her eyes twinkled with mirth as she looked at him.

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he heard his phone ring. He cursed under his breath and reached into his pocket and pulled it out, making sure to check the caller id before he answered, he didn't want another incident with those persistent fan-girls. Upon seeing it was just Shikamaru calling, he answered. "Yeah?" he asked rudely. Sakura shook her head at his bluntness. He smirked at that, then continued to wait for his brother to reply.

_"Hey, sorry to interrupt your date with Sakura, but I just wanted to tell you before I forget. Do you think you could stop by my room when you get back?" _

"It'll probably be a while, are you sure? Is there something wrong?" Sasuke asked, backing up from Sakura, who seemed to take the hint and pretended to be interested with something on the other side of the tree.

_"No, it's nothing I can't tell you when you get here. Just make sure you come to my room." _Shikamaru stated with a little impatience.

"Okay, but won't I wake up Neji?" he asked nervously, none of his brothers were early morning type of people, so they could get rather irritable when they are woken up.

_"Nah, he's going to be listening in also."_

"Oh, okay, well I'll see you later then." Sasuke shrugged, starting to walk back to Sakura and lead her out of the tree.

_"Yeah, and Sasuke?"_

"Yeah?"

_"....never mind. Bye." _

Sasuke stared at his phone for a bit before finally putting it back in his pocket. He didn't know why, but he got the feeling that something sounded different about his brother. He quickly shook that thought away, not wanting to be distracted while out on his date with Sakura. "So where do you want to go next? Seeing as we can now finally mark off The Upside-down tree on our list of things to never do again."

Sakura pouted, and he smirked at how cute she looked. "That's mean, Sasuke-kun." she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away with a "huff". He then shook his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Sorry, but seriously, where do you wanna go now?" he asked seriously. Sasuke watched as his pinkette placed her finger over her chin as if she were thinking, they paused in there walking as she looked around. He couldn't help to think that she looked rather adorable while doing that. He sighed when that went through his mind. He was getting way too soft.

She smiled up at him and motioned for him come closer as if she wanted to whisper it to him. He complied without question and lent forward, only to pause slightly when he felt her lips gently slant over his in a loving kiss. He immediately responded of course, usually he was the one to initiate their intimate activities. Not that he was complaining, though he would have preferred her doing something like this in private?

Sakura mewled softly when he deepened the kiss even more, his tongue trailed across the crease of her lips teasingly, and who was she to deny him. Without a second to pass, Sasuke had his tongue in her mouth and wasn't wasting any time to explore her cavern thoroughly.

After another few seconds, they finally pulled away from each other, gasping for air and their faces flushed a deep red. Sasuke's eyes seemed to be clouded over, and Sakura's wasn't all that clear either. He pulled her back closer to him. He growled low in his throat when he heard his phone ring. Hissing uncharacteristically, he answered. _"What?!" _

Sakura didn't seem to care whether or not if he was on the phone, seeing as she had just smirked and started trailing soft, teasing kisses along his jaw and around his neck. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and sucked gently on his pulse, she felt him gulp loudly as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. It sounded like Naruto was complaining about being at a play and missing his chance... Whatever that meant.

_**`Oh, wow, this is so much fun...' **_Sakura's inner stated dreamily.

_`Yeah, I know. Who knew he could get so nervous, I like it.'_

_**`You're such a sadist.'**_

_`Don't act like you aren't enjoying it.' _Sakura scoffed mentally when she saw her inner blush and turn away guiltily.

The pinkette smirked at Sasuke when she saw how deep his blush was getting. They had never gone this far as full on making-out, she wasn't complaining, she loved it. But she couldn't help but to listen to that little voice in the back of her head telling her to stop while she was ahead. She didn't notice Sasuke was already off the phone by the time she had managed to pull away out of his arms. Seems as if that little voice had worked her nerves up enough to scare her out of continuing to love up on Sasuke.

Said person gave her a confused look and started to pull her back over towards him, only to have her shimmy out of his arms and start to pull him in the direction of a small restaurant. "Come on Sasuke, lets get something to eat."

She turned away before she could catch the hurt and confusion that passed through his eyes. But it had immediately went away as soon as it came, he sighed and shrugged it off like it was nothing and followed behind her towards the restaurant.

* * *

"So, are you gonna tell Sasuke and Neji about this?" Ino asked as she gave Shikamaru a glass of tea.

"Yeah, besides... Sasuke can ask Sakura about everything for me, I wanna know what's going to happen to you." he stated, rubbing her cheek softly.

She smiled at him with watery eyes. "You're so sweet, Shika..." she trailed off, then she took his hand and held it against her face. "I don't want you to worry." she whispered hoarsely.

He chuckled. "Too late." he was about to continue, but his phone started to ring. "Hello?"

_"Hey, son, it's me..."_

"Dad!" Shikamaru looked over at Ino with wide eyes. "Hey, what's up?" he asked nervously, wondering if he was finally going to get good news. He didn't think he could handle anymore bad news.

_"I just called to give you a heads up about your mother. She's fine, and so is the baby... She's going to get to go home by the end of the week." _Kakashi stated, smiling from behind his mask as he looked at his wife.

Shikamaru smiled. "Wow, that's great, so everything is okay now?"

_"Yep, make sure you tell your brothers, we don't need to worry them anymore than we already have- Oh, hey, hold on... Your mother wants to talk to you..."_

_"Shika-chan?"_

Shikamaru swallowed hard, never in his life would he have imagined that he would miss his mother so much as he did at that very moment. "Hey," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "How are you, are they taking care of you?" he asked.

Anko laughed at how nervous her son was. _"I'm fine Shika-chan, and so is the baby... I would love to talk to all of my boys, but I had to bribe the nurse just to let me talk to you." _she laughed again when she heard her son chuckle also.

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "What did you bribe her with?"

_"Oh, well it seems a lot of the female population in this hospital have a crush on your father, so I told her she could have a thirty-minute conversation with him if she would let me talk to you... It worked."_

"It appears so..." he paused and held Ino's hand. "Don't strain yourself too much, okay?" he ordered.

Anko laughed again. _"Don't worry, Shikamaru. I love you, take care of yourself and your brothers, alright. I got to go, bye."_

"I love ya too, ma, bye." as he hung up the phone, Ino wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "She's okay..."

"That's great, aren't you happy, now your mom will have that little girl she has always wanted." Ino stated with a giggle.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? What if it's a boy?" he asked, placing his head on his palm as he leaned against his knee. He had a cocky grin on his face.

Ino shook her head quickly. "Impossible, your mom already has seven of you, why in the world would she have another boy?" she scoffed.

He laughed and rubbed his head. "Uh, Ino, its not like she really has a choice, you know?"

She shrugged. "I'm just saying, having a girl would be nice, imagine how cute she'd be... I mean, look how all of you turned out, you all are gorgeous hunks of flesh if I do say so myself." she stated proudly while running her hand along his arm, a mischievous smile gracing her features.

He grinned and pulled her close. "You troublesome woman, are you trying to make me jealous?" he asked with a raised brow.

She leaned in closer to his face and pecked the corner of his mouth. "Depends..." she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes skeptically. "On what?"

She shrugged in nonchalance. "I guess you'll never know."

He sighed and then leaned in to give her a passionate kiss, muttering, "You troublesome woman."

* * *

"Sasuke, I don't understand you, why are you so mad... He was just being polite." Sakura stated as she brushed some hair out of her eyes and lifted her glass of water to her lips as she stared at her boyfriend with annoyed, narrowed eyes.

Her boyfriend just grunted something under his breath that she couldn't make out, then spoke up. "He was trying to feel you up, Sakura." he ground out through clinched teeth as he glared at a British waiter that had zoomed by as fast as he could.

The pinkette shook her head and leaned against her palm. "It was an accident, Sasuke-kun... It's not his fault that he's new, and that he gets nervous at the sight of a pretty lady." she said smugly with a bright smile.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, the idiot managed to do something, like ruin the skirt I bought you." he grumbled.

"It was water, Sasuke-kun."

"I still think he should pay for it."

"It was on sale, Sasuke-kun."

"Don't deny me of trying to be a good boyfriend."

"You're sweet, Sasuke-kun. But I don't think your jealousy is required in this type of situation." Sakura stated softly as she took his hand.

He scoffed and to hide his blush he lifted his glass of tea to his lips. He was not jealous. Far from it. And besides, right after the guy had "accidentally" spilled water all over his girlfriends lap, the idiot even had the audacity to try and clean it off, with him sitting right across the table. Psh, being jealous was the last thing on his mind... Now, going out back and beating the waiter to a bloody pulp was another thing. He smirked to himself as he thought of the many ways to hide the body.

"Sasuke, it's rude to think of ways to murder people." Sakura quiped as she took another sip of her water. "And how many times do I have to tell you, it was an accident. Remind me to teach you about not being jealous when we get back to Japan."

"Hn."

* * *

**A/N;  
Oh wow, that was fun to write, though I never thought I would make it past writing those fluff scenes without bursting out laughing. Speaking of, how were those. I don't have the experience with any of that, so sorry if it wasn't too good. And also, I apologise for the OOC-ness. I made Shikamaru cry...  
And also, Anko made it through, and so did the baby. Ha, I'm so nice, I was thinking about it not making it, but you all wanted it to make it, so that was for you.  
And another thing... I'm never doing mush like that again, and by that I mean all that fluffy, sappiness... Yeah, no. But I hope I had some drama. And I really hope you liked the ending, that was kinda my favorite part.  
Tell me what you thought of this chapter. Reviews are much appreciated. Sorry for any mistakes.  
Review please**

_Side note; Yes Hyde Park really does exist, and so does The Upside-down Tree. The Ferris wheel, well I don't really know if it comes out every winter. And the music store is something I made up._


	8. Chapter8 Moving, Competition, and Boys

**A/N; Hey guys! Here is the eighth chapter to SGTTHBES, yay! Sorry everything has been a little slow, I've been very busy. Thanks Reviewers for all your support. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, nor do I own 30 Seconds to Mars.**

**Okay, as an added note, the lyrics is by 30 Seconds to Mars. The song is Beautiful Lie. Everything I wrote came from the cd, so I don't know if the music video version and the cd version are different. But yeah, enjoy! Again.  
****`Itachi'  
**_`Deidara'  
**`Itachi and Deidara**_

**___**

_

**_Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style_**

_Music is good for the soul.  
Especially when competitions invovled_.

**.**

"Sakura get up! Its already five in the morning!" Deidara shouted as he pounded on Sakura's door.

The pinkette growled lowly under her breath as she buried her head in her pillow to try and block the annoying bass player out of her wonderful dreams. She did not want to get up after spending half the night waiting for Sasuke to tell her what's been going on with Shikamaru.

Of course he never came. Which made her really annoyed by the way. She stayed up till at least two in the morning before she finally decided he wasn't going to come and talk to her. That was okay, at least she would get to talk to him later, but right at that moment all she wanted to do was sleep and not have to sing her lungs out till she was dry in the throat all day.

"Come on, Sakura! We're all waiting for you, you know?" stated Deidara as he, once again, pounded on her door, acting like it wasn't five o'clock in the morning.

Grumbling Sakura pulled back her covers and put on whatever it was that looked okay enough for her to be comfortable and pretty. The blonde was still knocking on her door by the time she went to open it. "Would you knock it off already, I'm up." she snapped as she slammed her door open, only to come inches away from being hit by Deidara's fist.

Said person just rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Sorry, yeah. Ready to go? We got a lot of work to do, Itachi wants us to try out some new songs." he shrugged when she gave him a narrowed look.

"What? Why? We haven't even picked the ones we're going to sing at the concert yet, why does he want us to sing other ones?!" she asked as they walked down the hall, and out of the hotel room.

Deidara shrugged once again and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You know Itachi, he's never just satisfied with one thing. Besides, we already picked the songs you're going to sing. We just still need to practice them." he smiled at her as he pushed the elevator button.

She just rolled her eyes and yawned. "Whatever, lets just get this day over with. I have to talk to Sasuke once practice is over..." she trailed off.

The blonde cleared his throat. "That's probably going to be a problem." he stated, looking anywhere but at her.

She arched a brow at him, clearly indicating for him to continue. "Why do you say that...?"

He chuckled nervously and scratched his chin. "Well, um, you see-"

"Deidara." she growled menacingly, clearly demanding for answers.

He held up his hands in surrender, not liking the look in her eyes at all. "Before you go all psycho on me, just hear me out first..."

Sighing, she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? I'm waiting." she snapped with a arched brow.

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Um, Itachi kind of sent them to another hotel..." he trailed off uncertainly, wondering if he should continue or not.

Within seconds, Sakura had Deidara by the collar of his shirt and his back against the elevator doors. "_What?!" _She hissed through clenched teeth, clearly ticked off by the news.

Deidara looked like a deer caught in the headlights, obviously not expecting such strength from a sixteen year old. Oh yeah, he was definitely regretting ever telling the pinkette about what happened to her boyfriend. "N-Now c-c-calm down, y-yeah." he stuttered pathetically, looking anywhere but at Sakura, wondering if he was really going to die at the hands of a pink haired, green eyed high school junior.

"Explain, Deidara!" she demanded without even batting an eyelash, the poor guy looked about ready to pee his pants.

Before the blonde could reply, the elevator dinged and the doors opened unsuspectingly. Sakura immediately let the blonde's collar go and watched in amusement as he screamed like a girl and fell to the ground.

"OW, yeah!" he exclaimed, holding his head between his hands as he laid on the ground, tears pricking the corner of his eyes from the pain.

She rolled her eyes and stepped over him, grabbing his guitar on the way, deciding that she'd rather hear the news from Itachi himself than from some brain dead male that said "yeah" at the end of every sentence. "Lets go, Deidara. I'm sure the others are waiting for us." she stated as she walked through the lobby, not once turning back to see if her friend was following.

"Sakura!" shouted a familiar voice.

Said person turned around only to see Ino running towards her. "Ino...?" she walked up to her friend.

"Oh man, you sure do walk fast!" the blonde said between breaths.

The pinkette smiled apologetically. "Yeah, sorry about that," she paused and raised a brow at her friend. "Aren't you supposed to be with the rest of the class in exploring the wonderful history of London?" she asked suspiciously.

Ino smiled at her friend mischievously. "Well, yes- But I wasn't feeling too well, so I told Sensei that I would just stay with you for the day. Then I saw you and Deidara walking down the hall with his bass being carried on your back..." she trailed off playing with her fingers. "Getting to the point- Would it be too much trouble if I were to go with you to practice for today?" she asked hopefully.

Sakura smiled happily at her friend and shook her head. "Not at all, I would love for you to come. That way we can catch up on our girl talk during my break. After all, I only have two songs whereas The Akatsuki have to practice a four song set." she giggled as Deidara finally managed to walk up to them, wearing a scowl on his face as he walked passed.

"Lets go, yeah." he grumbled, opening the doors to the hotel and exiting out onto the sidewalk, the two girls followed behind with teasing smiles as they whispered to each other about whatever there was to talk about.

* * *

"Can you believe Itachi?! Sending us to the roughest part of London, just so Pein and his "posse" could come and steal our rooms for the rest of the week!" Naruto whined as he set his luggage on the ground, looking at their room like it was the plague.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his brother, though some part of him agreed with him wholeheartedly. Out of all the places he's seen being an army brat. This one room had to have topped them all at being the worst. The wallpaper was pealing, it smelled of rotten food and feet, the beds looked as if they've been through hell and back. And without even looking, he could tell the bathroom was going to be the most scarring thing of the whole experience.

All six of them had to share one room, seeing as they couldn't afford anything else in London. The only reason they were even staying in a suite at the other hotel, was because it was free due to the concert sponsoring the rooms for the bands that were entering. That was the main reason they all got to stay in a six bedroom suite for free. Now they had to stay in a two bedroom cheap hotel with nothing but, Japanese currency that meant nothing to these money grubbers, and a whole week of taking turns on the only two beds in their room.

Kiba pouted and looked around. "This sucks. I mean, would it kill Itachi to at least leave us each a room to stay in, one that didn't look like someone commited a murder in? Why is it we get the blunt of the trip?!" he whined just like his older brother had previously.

Neji sighed and rubbed his temples. "It's not going to be indefinite, its not that bad. Though I do have to agree with Kiba on one thing, surely our dear elder brother could have done something more to help us out. I swear the clerk was checking me out when we walked to the stairs..." he scowled in disgust at the thought.

"Wasn't the clerk a guy???" Gaara asked innocently.

Shikamaru cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed his little brothers head affectionately. "The world has changed drastically, don't think too hard on that one." was all he said as he went to check the bathroom, only to come back a second later as pale as a sheet. He pointed behind his back with a shaky hand. "Whatever you do, _don't_ go in there." he ordered sternly.

Naruto looked about ready to cry as he spoke. "This really sucks..."

"Well, until Itachi comes over we'll just have to make due with what we have." Neji stated. "Now, who gets the floor? `Cause I'm not sharing the bed."

That started an uproar. "What gives you the right to take the bed?!" Kiba snapped irritably.

Neji arched a brow at his little brother. "Why not? I am the oldest after all."

Before you knew it, they all started to argue about who got the bed and who gets to sleep on the dirty floor.

* * *

Sakura tapped her foot as she glared at Itachi in annoyance. "I can't believe you sent them to _that _partof London, in a two bedroom hotel room no less! What kind of brother are you?" she snapped.

"The cheap kind." Kisame quipped, passing by the two with a smile.

Itachi glared at his oddly colored friend and said, "Shut up, Kisame," then he turned back to Sakura with a tired sigh. "Look, don't blame me. Blame Pein for unexpectedly calling me at the early hours of the morning, demanding to kick my little brothers out only so he could spend the rest of the week keeping an eye on all of us along with his old college buddies." he stated, thinking to himself about how that was the longest he's ever spoken in all his twenty years of living.

Hidan cursed loudly and stomped over to them. "What?! You never told us that, Pein's coming, and he's bring others with him?!" he asked in shock.

The elder Hatake nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hn."

Sasori walked over to them also. "When will he be coming?"

"Tomorrow." was his only answer as he walked over to his guitar and hooked it up to his amp that hung in his back pocket. "Enough talking," he ordered in annoyance. "Now get hooked up and lets get this day over with. I told the guys I'd come and check on them around five. We don't have enough time to play around, we still have to practice Sakura's songs plus the two we haven't even tried to play yet."

Deidara groaned. "This contest is seriously asking for a lot, yeah. I mean, can we seriously finish these three songs in five days?" he asked as he held up the sheet music to said songs.

Itachi sighed and narrowed his eyes at the blonde. "We won't if you keep asking questions when we could be practicing." he growled irritably.

"My bad, yeah." Said Deidara as he held his hands up in mock surrender.

Itachi ignored him and started to play, the others following along soon after.

**`Lie awake in bed at night  
And think about your life  
Do you want to be different? **_(different...)  
_**Try to let go of the truth  
The battles of your youth  
`Cause this is just a game'**

**`It's a beautiful lie  
It's a perfect denial_  
_Such a beautiful lie to believe in  
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me'**

**Its time to forget about the past **_(the past)  
_**To wash away what happened last **_(happened last, happened last)'_

**_Hide behind an empty face'_**

**`Don't ask too much, just say  
`Cause this is just a game' **_(Oooooh)_

**`_Its a beautiful lie  
Its a perfect denial  
Such a beautiful lie to believe in  
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me!'_**

_`Oooooooh hooo~  
Beautiful  
Oooh oh'_

**`Everyone's looking at me  
I'm running around in circles, baby  
A quiet desperation's building higher  
I've got to remember this is just a game'**

**`Lie~!! **_(So beautiful, beautiful  
Its a beautiful lie  
So beautiful, beautiful  
Its a beautiful lie  
So beautiful, beautiful  
Its a beautiful lie  
So beautiful, beautiful)'_

**`Its a beautiful lie~ **_(So beautiful, beautiful)_

**Its a perfect denial~ **_(So beautiful, beautiful)  
_**Such a beautiful lie to believe in  
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me~!' **

Sakura and Ino clapped as the song ended and stood to congratulate them on a job well done. "Wow, that was awesome!" Sakura exclaimed as she leaned against the stage. "That sounded more along the lines of when you sung "The Kill" I like that type a lot better than all the others, its sounds so much more you, you know?" she looked over towards Ino for some help.

Ino nodded along with Sakura. "She's got a point, you sound way better like that! You'd definitely win if you played more like that!"

Itachi smirked and nodded. "Thanks for your opinion. But we decided that that's what we're going to do anyway. But I'm proud to say we're thinking on the same lines."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Itachi's cockiness and turned back towards her seat. "Yeah, ye-"

"How much longer are you guys going to play around in here?" asked an unrecognizable voice.

They all looked in the direction of the entrance, only to see three males with instruments, standing by the door like they owned the place.

Kisame glared at them as he tuned Deidara's bass. "What's it to you?" he asked suspiciously.

The person who spoke first rolled his eyes and proceeded to walk forward, the other two following behind closely. "Hm, well, after hearing that horrible thing you called a song, I'd like to believe you would just give up and let the real professionals have their turn." he snapped impatiently as he stood in front of all of them.

As Deidara opened his mouth to retort. Itachi all of a sudden held up his hand and looked at the three new comers incredulously with a critical eye. "Hn." and with that he turned around and started to tell Tobi about what chords he should play for their next song, completely ignoring the now fuming males.

Sakura raised her brow at the three curiously, not knowing but wondering if she had seen the three before somewhere. She turned to Ino to ask, but it seemed as the blonde female had been thinking along the same lines, but actually remembered who they were.

"Suigetsu?! What in the world are you doing here?!" asked Ino in surprise as she gaped at the white haired male.

Smirking rather smugly, Suigetsu crossed his arms over his chest and replied. "Why, I'm here for the contest obviously. I'm the bass player for the Sound Four."

"Noway?!" Sakura and Ino both said in unison. They turned to get a better look at the two standing behind them and immediately glared once they recognized who they actually were. Sai, Suigetsu, and Zaku stood in front of them like they were gods. Of course The Akatsuki didn't buy it for a second."

Kisame snorted humorously and waved them off. "You three got a lot of nerve speaking to your elders like that." he stated.

"Who asked you, grandpa?" Zaku replied sarcastically with a glare.

Kisame glared at the brat and started to set his guitar down to teach the runt a lesson, but was stopped by another voice that spoke.

"My, my, looks like we have a bit of competition, eh boys?"

* * *

**A/N;** _Oh my gosh this chapter is so short! Sorry if I didn't cover a lot of things in this chapter you guys. But I promise I will in the next chapter, so until then, please bear with this, I promise it'll be a lot longer than what it is now!_

_I'd like to thank all of you for your support and your reviews, you guys are awesome and I love you all, but not in a weird way, lol!_

_Please review, they seriously keep me motivated! Also, if you can give me some song ideas, I've been dying to figure out what songs Sakura should sing! I need ideas, I'll take anything!_


	9. Chapter9 Schedules, Talking, and Boys

**A/N; Hey people, sorry about the late update, I've been really busy. I know this is kind of short, but hopefully you will like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto. I got one thing from a person I watch on youtube. "Oh mm to the holy Gee." yeah, so don't send me hate mail if you see that and recognise it from somewhere. **

**_**

**_**

**_**

**_Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style_**

**_._**

Sakura and Ino stared at Karin in utter shock. They had never thought in their wildest dreams that the idiotic redhead would be a lead singer in a band. The rosette snorted in distaste and pointed towards the uneven haired girl. "You have got to be kidding me. Of all the people they could choose, they chose you?" she asked skeptically, giving the girl a once over and then turning away from her like she wasn't important.

Ino laughed loudly next to Sakura, and held on to the pinkette's arm to try and keep herself steady, "That's ridiculous! Karin can't sing, didn't you hear her at the talent show three years ago. She was practically booed off the stage by the whole school!" she laughed again and turned away to sit down so she could control her breathing.

Said redhead sniffed indignantly and crossed her arms over her chest, making the shirt she was wearing ride up till it came at least over her waist.

Sakura rolled her eyes, _`Man, that girl has no self respect for herself.' _she thought with a shake of her head.

_**`What would you expect from someone like, Karin? Look at her, she's wearing probably one of the most skimpiest shirts that have ever been made, and if she were to bend down, she'd be flashing more than her butt.' **_inner Sakura stated simply, making gagging noises when she happened to see Karin walk up the stairs, her skirt, had in fact slipped up as she took a step one by one.

_`Ah geez, can we never escape from her, what do we have to do to get her away from us?'_

_**`Don't ask me, the only thing I can think of is making her disappear...'**_

_`You know that's not an option.'_

_**`What- Oh come on, it's not like anyone's going to miss her, really.'**_

_`You're hopeless.'_

_**`In a good way though, right?'**_

At that Sakura snapped out of her daze and watched as Karin and her band argued back and forth with the Akatsuki and Itachi. Of course, as you can probably guess, Itachi was as calm as ever while the others were loud and obnoxious. It didn't surprise her much when Karin tried to flirt with them, either. It was to be expected.

"Would you please back the heck off, I don't do trash, lady!" Hidan snapped irratably as he pushed Karin off of him.

"You have no right to treat me like that!" exclaimed Karin as she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at the silver haired man.

Said man grunted and crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground. "Okay, just like you don't have the right to insult us and tell us to leave?" he stated sternly, glaring down at the maroon hair colored girl.

Karin spluttered and gaped up at the male, trying to cover up her previous shock by fixing her glasses back on her pointed nose.

"You don't have the right to kick us out of here anyway." Sasori commented, walking up to them with a sheet of paper in his hands. He held it out for all to see. "We have a perfectly designed schedule for all the bands. You should have gotten one in the mail, this is all the bands that have timed practice here, in this auditorium. The Akatsuki have another three hours of practice, and then I suppose it's your turn."

Karin huffed and crossed her arms while stomping her foot. "No! I was strictly told that I should come here, around this time, to practice with my band! Nobody told me anything about time sheets." she whined.

"Then obviously you need to talk to your manager, or whoever is keeping you updated on the concert." Itachi said. "Now if you don't mind, we would like to get back to practice."

Karin scowled and stood straight. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do mind. We were told that the rest of the day would be free, so why don't you do all of us a favor and just go away. You guys aren't that great anyway." she snapped.

Hidan and Deidara stepped closer to the girl, growling angirly. Kisame and Kakuzu had to go as far as holding the two males back.

Karin squeaked and ran to stand behind her band-mates. "You animals. I should report you, no wonder you guys suck!"

At that comment, Karin's band members turned around and covered her big mouth with their hands, ordering her to shut up before she went to far.

With a roll of her eyes, Sakura looked over to see Ino sitting in one of the seats, looking rather pale and tired. Sakura walked over to her friend in worry and asked, "Hey, you don't look too good... Are you alright?"

The blonde smiled reassuringly. "I guess its as good as a time as ever to tell you..." she trailed off, leaving Sakura utterly confused.

The pinkette arched a brow. "What are you talking about? Is something wrong?" she asked, panic seeping in quickly.

Ino smiled at her friend and patted her back to try and calm her down before the real news was to be said. "First off, you need to breath." she stated, smiling at Sakura teasingly. "Lets go outside for a walk, its seems as though practice is to be held off for the time being." she stated, looking over at the arguing band members who were completely oblivious to all that was going on around. Taking her friends hand, Ino lead Sarkura down the hall and out of the building.

Sakura didn't know what to think, all different kinds of things were running through her head. Of course she knew something was wrong with Ino since the girl had arrived, she just didn't know what it was. She didn't want to think something was seriously wrong with her. "Ino, please tell me what's wrong. You're killing me here with the suspense. I swear if you are just pregnant, I will murder Shikamaru for scaring me so much for nothing!" she exclaimed.

Ino laughed halfheartedly, wondering why everyone thought she was pregnant. "No, it's not that. Just be patient Sakura, you'll find out soon enough. Just, be prepared for anything I tell you, alright?" she asked softly, a solemn expression taking over her features.

Sakura blinked and her gut started to churn in weird directions. She got the feeling the news her friend was going to tell her would be life altering.

* * *

"AHHHHH!! OH Mm to the Holy Gee!!! What the hell is that!?!?" Naruto screeched loudly as something slimy ran over across his foot.

Sasuke and Kiba looked around uncertainly, looking to see their normally tanned brother as white as a sheet and holding his knees tightly to his chest as he looked around the floor frantically. The onyx eyed teen arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at his brother and wondered if the blonde had finally lost his marbles. "What is it now, Dobe? That has got to be the fifth time you've shouted in the past twenty minutes." he stated in annoyance.

Naruto looked about ready to cry his eyes out, he pointed shakily to the floor and stuttered out incoherently. "B-b-but t-t-t-there a-a-and f-f-f-foot!" he exclaimed, his blue eyes wide and watery.

"I can't believe you are actually older than us. You are such a girl." he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Their blonde brother glared at them and in spite of himself he jumped off the bed and pointed at them angrily. "You'd be acting the same way as I if you had something run across your feet- Ack!! It did it again!" he shouted, jumping back on to the bed.

With a roll of their eyes, Kiba and Sasuke went back to trying to fix the TV. "Keep quiet Naruto, If you're so scared of something crawling all over your feet, put some shoes on and try not to think about it. If you want, call Neji and the others and tell them to pick up some pest repellent on their way back from the market." Sasuke ordered as he tweaked the back of the television a bit.

The blonde just sighed and reached over to the floor to get his socks and shoes, only to come face to face with most disgusting thing that had probably ever walked the earth. Naruto's mouth opened wide in a silent scream, not able to take his eyes off of the creature that hissed and tried to snap at him. "S-S-S-Sas-uke!" he whispered hoarsely.

Sasuke growled as he was shocked from a wire as his brother called out to him, he turned to snap at his idiotic brother only to pause when he saw exactly what his older brother was blubbering about previously. All he could do was stare as his brother leaned in mid-air of his shoes, trying not to startle the animal into biting or attacking him.

Kiba also turned to look and see what was going on and nearly fell back. "What is that thing?" he whispered towards Sasuke.

"I think its a cat...?" he at a look of confusion. "I think..." he trailed off.

Poor Naruto had a look of shear terror on his face as he looked towards his brothers. "Why me?" he whined between panicked sniffles.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Hold on, Naruto. Before you move we got to make sure that thing doesn't have rabies-"

"RABIES?!?!" shouted Naruto with wide eyes.

Kiba covered his mouth with his hand to try and stifle the laughter that was dying to break through from his mouth. This had to be the most comical thing he has seen since he'd arrived in London. "Oh my god, Naruto! Are you crying?!" he asked, not able to hold in his laughter any longer.

The blonde just scowled at him as he tried to pull himself back on the bed without startling the creepy looking creature.

Sasuke ran frustrated hand through his hair and looked over at his baby of an older brother. "Just; Don't make any sudden movements." he ordered sternly, looking around for something to capture the animal with.

Kiba lent towards Sasuke a little and whispered, "Don't you think we should call the front desk and have them bring someone up to help is ou-"

"Rubella!! Rubella darling where are you?!" shouted a voice from outside the hall. They were about to turn and call the front desk when they heard a knock on their room door.

Sasuke walked over and opened it slightly, he surprised to see and old, pudgy looking woman staring at him with something akin to a grimace and a wet puppy look. With a arched brow, he asked calmly, "Can I... help you??"

Without a word, the woman pushed him out of the way and held her arms out in Naruto's general direction. "Rubella, baby, come to mommy!" she exclaimed.

Naruto gave her a confused look and immediately shook his head. "Noway, lady! I don't know you." he stated.

The woman scoffed and smacked the blonde over the head as she got closer towards him. "Not you, you ungrateful brat. I was talking about my sweet puppy Rubella." she said in a sweet voice as she bent down and picked up the animal that had nearly gave the three brothers a heart-attack,

"Wait," Kiba said, holding his hand out and rubbing his face. "You're telling me that, that thing- or whatever is a dog?"

She blinked at him as if he were an imbecile. "What did you think it was? A mouse?" and with that, she walked out of the door with her head held hi and her "dog" licking her face somewhat happily.

Naruto sat up straight and looked at the door for a minutes before stating. "Okay, either of you can't say that wasn't weird."

* * *

Sakura watched as her friend paced back in forth. They had been sitting in a near by park for nearly thirty minutes and Ino had still not yet told her what was going on. Sakura really didn't want to say anything, she wanted to be patient so that Ino could take her time to tell her everything clearly... Whatever everything was that is. The suspense was killing her.

"Alright, you have to promise me, that whatever I tell you, you won't freak out, okay?" Ino asked as she held her pinky out for Sakura to take.

The pinkette nodded and linked their pinkies together. "I promise... Ino, what's wrong?" she nervously asked as her friend sat down next to her on the bench and fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but Sakura I went to the doctors office a few days ago, right after you and the others flew here. I wasn't feeling well you know?" she asked looking over at her friend with a forlorn stare. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat, afraid for the worst. "Um, it's not for sure, I still have to take more tests and get a second opinion, but they- they said I could possibly have Leukemia." she stated, tears rolling down her eyes as she looked out across the small pond the park offered.

Sakura didn't know what to say, or how to react. It felt as if the whole world was shrinking around her and suffocating her, she didn't know how something so tragic could happen to someone who was always so lively, and happy, and probably never had a care in the world till recently. Taking a deep shuddering breath, she wrapped a comforting arm around her friends shoulders. "Ino, I am _so_ sorry. You don't deserve something like this to happen to you." she whispered sadly.

The blonde smiled brokenly. "It happens... There's not much anyone can do about it. I just hate feeling like my whole life is at a pause, you know. Tsunade-san said she would take another test to see if it was true, she said she didn't trust any of the doctors there at the hospital."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "I understand, Tsunade-shishou did say something about those doctors being corrupt and unintelligent." she tried to joke.

Which helped, Ino started to giggle and she rubbed away the last bit of her tears. "I'm sorry I brought this all out on you, Sakura. I know you have more things to worry about." she stated.

"Hey, don't say that. You're my best-friend, and something could seriously be wrong with you. I wanna be there to help anyway I can." she reassured. "You know, for a while, I thought you might have been pregnant."

Ino laughed loudly after that. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Shikamaru and I haven't gone _that _far in our relationship... Though we may act like it at times. I'm the old fashioned type of girl, I'd like to wait till after I was married." she laughed again at Sakura's shocked expression.

"Wow, Ino that's really cool. Though I don't know how you do it with a hormone crazy boyfriend." said Sakura, shaking her head disbelievingly.

With a snort, Ino covered her mouth with her hand and tried to keep the laughter at bay so she could form an coherent sentence. "Shikamaru? Hormone crazy? Hah, that's like Sasuke eating candy. It'll never happen." she shook her head and stifled more of her laughter.

Sakura smiled at her friend, happy that she was able to make her laugh. After a few moments, she frowned slightly and sat up straighter. "Have you told anyone other than Shikamaru and I?" she asked uncertainly.

"Not yet... I wanted to let Shikamaru know before anyone else." she shrugged and rested her face against her palm as she leaned against her knees.

"Why didn't you want to tell the girls?" Sakura asked in confusion.

The blonde sighed and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "I wanted to tell them, but I knew they would probably cry their hearts out. And I still want to know for sure before I tell anyone else. I mean, you're an apprentice of one of the best doctors that has ever arrived in Japan. I thought maybe you knew something about this sort of thing."

The rosette nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know a few bits and pieces about Leukemia. Though many things could happen, and not all the treatments could help. I know I shouldn't be telling you bad news; but you are going to have to be strong, really strong." she stated shakily. "I just want you to know that we are all going to be here for you if worse comes to worst."

Ino nodded and hugged her friend tightly. "Thank you, Sakura." she said softly.

"Sakura-chan!! Itachi wants you to come back inside. Those guys left already, yeah." Deidara stated as he waved the two back into the concert hall. "Come on, Itachi's got to leave in two hours!" he exclaimed impatiently.

Ino and Sakura rolled their eyes and raised themselves up off the bench and started walking back over to the building. "Alright, alright, don't get your man-thong in a twist, Deidara." Sakura joked as the two females passed by him.

* * *

"Wow, so you got to talk to Dad last night? What did he say?" Naruto asked excitedly as the all sat around the room; Shikamaru had just told them all about their dad calling and was about to explain what all was going on.

"He said mom and the baby were, and that they just needed a lot of rest. He said she missed us, and that when you get the chance you need to call her." he stated, slouching back into the wall and shutting his eyes, hoping to get some sort of sleep.

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms childishly. "That's it? Nothing else?" he asked hopefully.

Shikamaru yawned and shook his head with a shrug. "Nope. Nothing else." he drawled out lazily.

"Well, that's lame..." The blonde trailed off disappointed.

"When do you think Itachi's going to get here?" Kiba asked nonchalantly as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"Not for another hour probably. At least he said he'd bring us something to eat." Naruto shrugged as he turned the channels on the TV.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is your stomach all you ever think about?" he asked sarcastically.

Naruto shook his head and reached over to steal some of the candy Gaara was munching on. "Nope, well, now I am 'cause I haven't eaten since this morning, but oh well... I hope Itachi has enough sense to bring me a pack of ramen or something."

Kiba scoffed. "How can you eat that stuff, it smells terrible." he made a face just thinking about it.

"Really? Well, you smell like wet dog and you don't see me complaining." he stated with a shrug and a cocky smile.

* * *

**A/N; Alrighty, there you go. I hope this was all to your liking. Yes, I know Karin seems to be everywhere you turn, and yes, Shikamaru didn't give much detail to all that has been going on. And yes, the whole thing with Ino is dragging along lamely. But, I hope, hope that the next chapter will be a lot more detailed, I know I said I would do it in this chapter but it seemed as if it wouldn't fit right. I still have to place all the characters in the right setting... apparently they're not there yet. But they will be, so please be patiend. **

**Please tell me what you think in a review, I don't mind if its to tell me to update. And also, if you have in ideas for a song Sakura could sing, that would be much appreciated, I haven't been able to find one. Except for one, but I'd like that one to be at the end. Thanks for all the support and reviews. You guys rock!**

**~blonde insomniac~**


	10. Chapter10 Male Clerks, Dinner, and Boys

**A/N; **_Oh my gosh! I don't know how I didn't notice this before, but I have over a hundred reviews, and only ten chapters have been put out! Omg, yay me!! You guys are awesome. I'd like to think all of you for your support, I'd also like to give a special thank you to _**.uchihanin.**_ For letting me use her characters, she's awesome people really, and French, you gotta love that!_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way. Sad, but true. All the credit for those amazing characters goes to Masashi Kishimoto**_

_Please take note, I mean no offense to those who have family who were diagnosed with cancer. If I am offending you, I deeply apologize._

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**_Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style_**

_When you're in one of the most amazing places in the world,  
and you wish nothing could go wrong.  
Something always seems to make it their life's goal to try and bring you down.  
What with the drama, the tragedies, and even some of the most ridiculous things ever.  
How can one concentrate on band practice when everything else seems to be pulling you in their direction?_

_**.**_

Sakura couldn't stop the glare that had formed as they all stood in the middle of the room Sasuke and his brothers were going to be staying in for the time being while Pein was coming. She was furious to say the least, as soon as she stepped into this room, she knew Itachi was going to get an ear full. Preferably from the rosette herself.

The place was ridiculously unpleasant for a motel room, unidentifiable stains were on the floors and on the walls. Sakura almost choked when she saw how small the beds were, which meant half of the guys were going to have to sleep on the floor.

As you can guess, that was something the pinkette did not like at all. And she was not going to have Sasuke and his brothers sleeping on the floor, that was too cruel, it didn't even look like the motel supplied the blankets or pillows to even think about sleeping on the floor. Which lead to why Sakura was now glaring at Itachi with green eyes blazing with fire.

"I can't believe out of all the motels you can rent a room from, you chose this of all places!" she exclaimed grumpily as she snuggled herself into Sasuke's side. She may have been a bit miffed, but that doesn't mean she couldn't love up on Sasuke and diss his brother at the same time.

Itachi gave Sakura an irritated look and blew a lock of loose hair out of his face. "I don't see why you're complaining, I'm not making you stay here, and it's only temporary." he retorted flippantly.

At that Sakura just shook her head and tapped her foot impatiently. "We don't know that for sure, for all we know Pein could be planning on spending the rest of the trip here!" she exclaimed dramatically.

The brothers all gaped at Sakura's proclamation, then suddenly turned to their elder brother to protest. "Noway," Neji hissed. "You can't expect us to stay here for another week and a half! This place is infested with god knows what, the male clerk keeps staring at my butt and you don't even want to go in that bathroom." he said in disgust. They all tensed as they looked in the direction of said bathroom.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted. "I mean, okay, the thing about Neji and the male clerk is kind of funny, but you seriously can't expect us to stay here for the rest of the trip!" he screeched indignantly. "I almost got eaten by some deformed cat!"

With a deep breath, Sakura unwrapped herself from Sasuke and stood her ground. Her gaze hardening as she stared pointedly at Itachi. "I'm sure if you asked, the manager would give us another suite. We could tell him it was because we didn't have enough room for our equipment or something, I mean you have to admit..." she trailed off, giving Sasuke and his brothers a pointed look, then she turned back to Itachi with a shrug. "They are access baggage."

"Hey! I resent that!" Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the blondes immaturity and said, "I am only saying Naruto," she said with a shrug, then continued on. "Do you really want to stay in this dump for the next week?" the rosette asked incredulously as she gazed into Naruto's now horrified cerulean eyes. She giggled a bit and shook her head and said, "I thought so."

"So now that we're here, and Itachi is going to do whatever we want for the rest of the day. What do you want to do?!" the pinkette asked innocently with twinkling green eyes. It wasn't like the boys were going to complain about their older brother paying for whatever they wanted, I mean, they had to be just as mad as Sakura was about this whole situation. He hadn't even talked to them about it in the first place.

Sakura watched as everyone perked up and stood, ready to have Itachi abide by there every beck-and-call. Well, kind of. As the rosette linked her arm around Sasuke's and threw her fist in the air screaming "YOSH!" at the top of her lungs, she began to realize that she still needed to talk to Shikamaru about what she and Ino had discussed earlier in the park during practice.

As she drifted off into her own thoughts, Sakura tried to think about ways she could approach Shikamaru without having to explain herself to anyone as to why she would want to talk to the lazy-genius "privately". Sasuke would definitely go into a jealous fit and stomp his foot like a little girl . . . okay, so he wouldn't do that, but a girl could dream about her boyfriend being jealous of some things...

_`This is not going to be easy... I know how hard this must be for Shikamaru, that's probably why he wanted to talk with Sasuke and Neji last-night...' _Sakura thought as she looked up at her boyfriend, wondering if their genius of a brother had told them about Ino yet.

_**`It is kind of heart-breaking. I bet he never even expected something like this to happen.'**_ her inner piped up solemnly.

_`Yeah, but I promised Ino that I would try to explain all the most important details to him for her. She barely understands what's going on herself. Though, maybe I should talk to Tsunade about it first.'_

_**`I don't know why, it's not like she has the test results now. Wasn't she going to do them when Ino got back from the field-trip. Do you think its possible that maybe Ino wants you to prep Shikamaru about it now, just in case worst comes to worse?' **_Sakura's inner asked. **_'Man, it's a good thing we studied for things like this.'_**

_`I didn't go into nursing school for nothing. I'm just hoping that the tests at the hospital were wrong, and that Ino is as healthy as an ox.'_

_**`Don't get your hopes up.'**_

_`Don't worry, I reminding myself that every time it comes to thought... It's a shame Ino couldn't come with us though.'_

_**`Yeah, but she would have gotten in trouble if she hadn't left to go to the hotel when she did.'**_

_`Its still sad though.'_

Trying to be as inconspicuous as she possibly could; Sakura slowly started to ease her steps till she was walking side-by-side with her dear friend, Shikamaru... Okay, so they weren't best friends. Leaning in a little closer Sakura whispered into Shikamaru's ear trying to do so without anyone noticing. "Pssst, Shikamaru?"

Said person opened one of his closed eyes and sighed when he saw her there looking at him. "What is it, Sakura?" he asked lazily, closing his eyes again. The rosette wondered how he could do that while walking.

Blinking a bit she stood straighter and linked her shaky hands behind her back and thought about how to word her words carefully. "I talked to Ino earlier today. She wanted me to talk to you, see how you were doing. She was going to come with us so she could see you, but she got a text telling her she had to get back to the hotel before she got in trouble." she explained all in one breath, and placed her hand over her heart and took long drags of much needed air.

As she looked at him skeptically, Sakura could tell Shikamaru was just as tense as he could possibly be. Sakura felt really bad for probably ruining the rest of his day, but she had promised Ino that she would do this and help him in any way she could. With that she took another deep breath and spoke, "I'm sorry, you probably didn't want to deal with this today, but I told Ino I would talk to you. Answer any of the question you might have..." she trailed off, scuffling her feet as they walked down the sidewalk.

"What type of questions am I supposed to ask?" he shot back, his voice sounding rather irritated.

Sakura really didn't take his attitude personal, she knew he had to be dying from the inside out. "I'm sorry. You probably don't want to talk about something like this-"

"It's fine, Sakura. Ino asked you to talk to me, I know she's probably worried but she doesn't need to be. Yeah, I'm upset, but I just want her to be okay and I want the tests that Tsunade are going to be doing, wrong. I don't want her to be sick, I don't want to lose her." he stated.

"I know, I'm sorry, the last thing you need is for me to tell you that everything is going to be okay, when I know nothing of the situation at all." she said to him sadly, stopping in front of him while the others walked on.

"I- Have you talked to Tsunade at all?" he asked her with a bit of hesitance.

"No. I was going to talk to her later though . . . do you want me to ask her to call you?" she asked him curiously.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Yeah, could you. I mean, I would call her; She is my brother's god-mother but I..." he trailed off.

At that; she held up a hand and smiled. "It's fine, don't worry."

"Hey!! What are you two doing?! I'm hungry over here!" Naruto shouted loudly and annoyingly. The two rolled their eyes at the blonde and started to walk again. Sasuke gave the pinkette a weird look, which was to be expected; She had been talking to his brother in secrecy.

_`Wait... Does that mean he doesn't trust me alone with his brothers?' _Sakura thought irritatedly.

_**`Okay, I think you're thinking way too much about something as stupid as a look Sasuke gave you.'**_ Sakura's inner voice popped in. The pink haired teen inwardly rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore the little -annoying- voice inside her head_. **`You do know that's next to impossible, right? I am you, as you can see.' **_she clarified in a matter-of-fact tone.

_`Don't you ever get tired of being in my head? I mean, this is seriously starting to get old. It's not like you ever give me any good insight.' _Sakura thought, her eyes glazing over as she thought of all the trouble her inner had gotten her into just from listening to her "bright" ideas in the past.

_**`Hey, hey, hey!! If it wasn't for me, do you seriously think there would ever be a "you" and "Sasuke"?'**_

Instead of answering her inner, Sakura decided to go back into the real world and listen to Naruto and Sasuke argue about who was better at lifting weights.

With a roll of her emerald green eyes she sighed and walked back up to Sasuke side and thought, _`Men...'_

"Ne, ne, Sakura. Tell Teme here who has the best six pack!" Naruto shouted as he stood in front of Sakura and then proceeded to pull up his orange shirt with a green frog. Sakura swore under her breath, if she wasn't dating Sasuke and if Hinata wasn't in love with this blonde idiot; she would seriously fall to her knees, and beg him to let her lick chocolate off his chest.

… Well, that would be the case; If Sasuke hadn't of shoved the poor unsuspecting blonde out of the way and pulled Sakura along towards whatever restaurant they were going to eat at. Sakura smiled as he continued to pull her down the street, the others following behind at a decent pace. "Hm, so what are we going to do after we eat?"

She didn't get much of a reply, save for a few grunts. As they walked down the street Sakura began to think about how much she was going to miss having Sasuke right across the hall from her room.

_`I wish Sasuke didn't have to move out. It's bad enough I hardly ever got to see him when he stayed in the suite. __I mean, is it too much to ask when all you want to do is spend a romantic day with your boyfriend?' _she rambled mentally.

_**`What did you expect? I mean, Deidara did say you probably weren't going to spend a lot of "You" time while we were here. I still don't know why Itachi invited his brothers to come. They don't get to do much now that they don't stay at the hotel anymore.'**_

_`Yeah, that does kind of suck. I want to spend more time with Sasuke. Our relationship almost ended and we only got to go on one date since we've been here!'_

_**`I thought it was two...?'**_

_`The first one doesn't count! That was how I almost lost the love of my life... Literally!'_

_**`Okay, okay, don't have a cow. Geez, moody much? I think so.'**_

_`Please stop with the sarcasm. What am I going to do? I want to spend some real time with my man, but with band practice, Pein and his friends coming and even Sasuke moving out of the suite. It's close to impossible to get some just He and I time.'_

_**`Uh, news flash!! Who said you and Sasuke had to go to dinner with the goon patrol! No matter how gross that motel room was; you and Sasuke could be having a full make-out session in the privacy of your own smelly, highly unsanitary room!'**_

_`Okay, I get it, that's enough. And no way am I going to subject myself to something as low as making-out with my boyfriend in some run-down motel room. Do you know nothing of romance?'_

**_`Uh, hello, I am the dirtier part of your subconscious... I don't think about stuff like that! All I want is to kiss Sasuke till his eyes are glazed and his lips bruise... And frankly; I don't care where.'_**

As Sakura started to mentally retort, Sasuke squeezed her hand a bit more and the rosette looked up only to see that they had already made it to the restaurant. She smiled up at him apologetically for being distracted and pulled him along inside, the others walking in behind.

With a grin, she took a deep breath as she smelled all the delicious aroma wafting through the building. If she was anyone else, her mouth would have started watering.

As they sat around the table, a waitress bounced up to them and twirled her hair around her finger and asked in a flirtatious voice; "What would you boys like to order?"

Of course, the majority of the group answered nonchalantly, not really paying attention to the girl. Only telling her what they wanted and that being it. Deidara and Kisame however wanted to play along with her; due to the fact that they were really bored and didn't want to talk to a bunch of teenagers about pointless things.

And as you would have guess, as soon as the girl got a good look at the blonde looking transvestite and the blue-man with shark teeth; she quickly scuffled away with a horrified expression.

As everyone talked amongst themselves quietly, Sakura noticed Gaara silently drinking his glass of iced water and reading. She rolled her eyes at the clueless red head, wondering if reading was all he ever did; it was kind of like watching Kakashi's twin, only Gaara was younger and not as perverted, or so she thought.

With hesitance, the rosette poked the red head on the shoulder and watched as he grunted and looked in her direction in annoyance. "Can I help you, Sakura?" he asked in that rough tone of voice.

She smiled apologetically and leaned her head against her palm. "Not really, I just wanted to know how things were going? We haven't talked in a while, and I was wondering if anything new had happened.

After a short pause, he finally shrugged and set his book down, not looking at her once during all of this. "Not really. When you and the others were still not on friendly terms I kind of went back to just reading and ignoring everybody." he said in nonchalance.

With an indignant huff, Sakura narrowed her eyes at the young Hatake and poked him on the forehead. "You do know the whole point for me being your un-professionalized therapist was so you didn't do exactly what you did." She grumbled tersely.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't socialize. Nor have I ever even tried." he grumbled irritatedly.

"You know what you need is a hobby." the rosette stated, ignoring his previous comment completely.

Gaara arched a brow and looked pointedly towards his opened book that was on the table. She didn't seem to notice and went on to counting things out on her fingers. That is when Gaara took it upon himself to flick Sakura against her -normal sized- forehead. "Stop being annoying. And what's so wrong with reading? Isn't that a hobby?" he asked, being more conversational then normal.

Sakura sighed in exasperation and shook her head. "No. I meant like a sport or a club!" she exclaimed dramatically.

Gaara gave her a blank look.

"What? Oh come on, you can't tell me that you are that socially retarded, can you?" she asked skeptically with a raised brow.

* * *

"Sasuke, your brother is ridiculously retarded when it comes to being around people... and other things in general." Sakura stated as she talked to Sasuke on the phone after arriving back at the hotel. She had spent half her dinner trying to figure out a way to help Gaara. Ever since the whole Naruto, Karin and herself thing, she hadn't been able to get back to having meetings with Gaara.

"_That's nothing new."_Sasuke said in monotone on the other line.

"You're not getting it Sasuke," she snapped irritably. "Maybe you should, like get him into a sport or something... Aren't you the captain of the football team?" she asked curiously, playing with the corner of her pillow.

"_Sak', Gaara wouldn't last a second in football. My teammates would probably kill him... And we do not want that to happen." _he told her jokingly.

"I'm being serious here, Sasuke. I really think you should find a sport for him." she whined.

She could hear Sasuke sigh in annoyance on the other line. _"Why don't you find him a sport. Aren't you into soccer? Why don't you teach him how or something...?"_ he recommended nonchalantly.

Sakura took that suggestion into consideration. She loved soccer. If she didn't love being a doctor more, she would have seriously thought about going pro. She was about to tell Sasuke how much she loved him for being a genius, but stopped when she heard someone knock on the door and then a lot of shouting.

"_Sakura, you still there?" _Sasuke asked after a while of not receiving a reply.

"Yeah, babe I'm still here," she said, shaking her head thinking whoever was there was probably just room-service. "So, do you think you're going to be fine on the floor tonight?"

"_I don't think it's going to be too bad. I have enough pillows and blankets. Although, I could go without Kiba and Akamaru snoring." _he grumbled under his breath with a scoff.

I pouted and blew a lock of my pink hair out of my face. "I'm sorry you have to stay there. I tried talking to the manager of the hotel here, seeing if there was a chance of getting another room; he said there wasn't any rooms left, seeing as all the other rooms are booked by the other bands." she said sadly, absently playing with a strand of pink hair that fell into her eyes.

"_Its fine, Sakura. There's no need for you to worry. It's fine, besides its not like Pein's going to be staying there for-"_

"Hold on Sasuke, I think Pein and his entourage are here...?" Sakura interrupted in surprise. She had thought that maybe it was the cleaning lady, or something, but when she heard Deidara practically scream Pein's name out in surprise, she knew it wasn't someone bringing them their towels for in the morning.

"_Hey Sakura, hon are you still there? What do you mean Pein is there? Are you serious? Hello?" _Sasuke asked from the other line as Sakura discreetly opened her bedroom door and looked down the hall, only to see six figures talking sternly to Itachi and the others. She was about to go back into her room and just pretend she was asleep; Well, she would have. If Deidara hadn't of seen her and beckoned her over frantically with a dramatic wave of his tattooed hand.

Sakura gulped and told Sasuke to hold on for a moment as she walked into the living room of their hotel suite. With a smile of awkwardness and hands trembling out of nervousness, she managed to utter out a shaky "Hi". After a while of beating herself up mentally for being ridiculously embarrassing, she then began to examine the two that appeared to be Pein and Konan. Pein had bright orange hair with piercings all around his face, and Konan was no different, save for the blue hair that had a paper rose tied to her hair bun.

Sakura had also noticed the others, but before she could get the full details of them in her mind, Deidara had cleared his throat, and mumbled something about getting tea for everyone. When Deidara made his move to leave, Itachi grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt and held him there and spoke; "Pein, what is all this about, who are these people?" Itachi asked as he narrowed his eyes at the four people standing behind Pein and Konan.

Sakura watched in distaste as the orange haired manager smirked and moved to the side, pointing to the people that now stood in front of them. "Itachi, I'd like to introduce to you; The new members of Akatsuki."

The only thing that could be heard throughout the room was Sasuke's voice as the phone landed on the wooden floor with a loud "clank"...

* * *

**A/N; Okay there you go. Hope you like, sorry for the mistakes. Please review and tell me what you think! Oh, and I'm sorry about how the title and stuff is. My computer is being difficult!  
~blonde insomniac~**


	11. Chapter11 Pains, Cells, and Boys,revised

**A/N; So after a night of having chapter11 out, I changed my mind and decided that I was going to try and re-edit it to make it so the most simplest mistakes aren't there. So let's hope this chapter is better than the first.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Special Thanks; To .uchihanin. For letting me use her characters**

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_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**_

_Have you ever wondered why people think it's their right to run your life?  
Like everything you do is up to them?  
It's like they don't even think about the other person.  
Well, I'm not going to let them get away with this..._

_**.**_

Sakura leaned against the headboard of her bed in her hotel room as she listened to Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki argue back and forth with Pein and Konan. The new members of the band sitting across from her on the loveseat her room offered. She didn't know what to do, she definitely didn't want to talk to them, especially after one of them tried to hit on her when she had went to pick up her cell phone that she had dropped earlier when she had first heard the news.

_**`Why don't you say something? Strike up a conversation, insult them, curse them! Do something! I'm dying here.' **_Inner-Sakura exclaimed irritatedly as Sakura once again avoided eye contact with any of the three.

The pinkette didn't know what to do, she definitely didn't want to talk to them._`Why don't you just... Shut up!' _She retorted inwardly with an indignant huff.

_**`Oh yeah, what a great comeback. I'm quaking in my boots.' **_Inner-Sakura sarcastically shot back with a snort.

Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes and accidentally started to mutter to herself out loud, making the three look up at her weirdly. At that she ducked her head down, embarrassed. _`Oops...'_

_**`Great! Now they probably think you're a freak. As if the pink hair couldn't make it anymore obvious.' **_the outlined inner huffed moodily.

_`You know? You are really, really starting to get on my nerves.'_

_**`Yeah, well what else is new?'**_

Finally managing to shake out of her thoughts; Sakura looked up only to see the one who had hit on her earlier, looking down at her with a cocky smirk as he held her vibrating phone out in front of her. Without so much as a blink she snatched it out of his hand and held it close to her chest, her eyes wide from surprise. She could have sworn she had set her phone back in her pocket when she had picked it up earlier.

The young man smiled cheekily and held out his hand. "Hello, gorgeous. Did you fall from Heaven cause you must be an Angle?" he asked flirtatiously as he kissed her hand gently.

Making a disgusted face, Sakura carefully pulled her hand back away from his grasp and smiled a forced and uncomfortable smile. _`I can't believe Itachi had me bring these guys into my room. Does he not know that I could possibly get raped by this younger version of Jiraiya?!' _

_**`I wouldn't give him that much credit...'**_

_`... I'm not even going to reply to something like that.'_

Sakura gave the man a critical look, as if sizing him up. His hair was black, it went all the way down to the nape of his neck and his bangs nearly touched the tip of his nose, you could barely see his eyes but could tell they were a deep ebony; almost like Sasuke's. He was tall, looked about near his twenties, maybe. If she remembered correctly, his name was something like, Izuna.

Next was the girl, who in fact, was actually Izuna's twin sister Yasake. The young woman was pretty, tall, her hair was a deep shade of raven and her eyes were a nice blend of a gray and blue, she was also pretty tall and seemed to be very intimidating. Sakura felt like if the girl stared at her long enough then it could very well be possible to burn from someone's intense stare. The rosette shivered uneasily as she quickly looked away from the girl and over to the third member of the group.

She couldn't quite get a good look at him, he had a hoodie over his body that covered half his face and dark shades over his eyes. He seemed to be the most mysterious out of all of them. Sakura began to wonder why he had, as of yet, to introduce himself.

_**`Maybe he's really ugly and he just doesn't want to grace us with his hideousness...?'**_

_`That was ridiculous, even for you.'_

_**`What? I'm having an off day, so sue me.'**_

"-- Uh, hello? Is anyone home?" Asked Izuna as he waved his hand in front of Sakura's dazed face.

The rosette blinked a few times and then looked up, only to see the one named Izuna staring at her with big dark eyes and a cocky smile. With a shriek of surprise, Sakura pulled back swiftly and hunched herself over her pillow. From the position she was in, you could only see the front of her legs and the top of her head.

With a scowl, Sakura snapped at the male. "What do you think you're doing? Haven't you ever heard of personal bubbles?!" she screeched in annoyance and embarrassment.

Izuna just stood back up straight and scratched his chin thoughtfully, then after a minute he smiled a toothy smile and shook his head. "Nope! Can't say that I have," he bent down till they were at least eye level. "Usually women jump at the chance to be so close to me as you have been." he stated, he winked at her and blew her a kiss.

Sakura rolled her eyes inwardly. _`You can tell this one is rather into himself.' _

_**`He knows it too.'**_

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Sasuke sighed as he watched his brothers argue over the remote control. He had been waiting, rather impatiently, for Sakura to call back. Ever since Pein and Konan had shown up, he wasn't able to talk to her. When she dropped her phone, she had quickly picked it up and informed him that she had to go and that she would call him back as soon as she could.

It had been two hours since then, and already you could feel an annoyed air starting to surround him thickly.

"She'll call back. Stop getting all moody about it already, you're scaring Kiba." stated Neji to Sasuke as he held the remote control over his head as Naruto tried to reach for it, and instant cup of ramen being balanced carefully in his free hand.

"Hey!" Kiba shouted indignantly from the other side of the room.

Sasuke just ignored his brothers and grunted a, "Hn." then went back to staring at his phone.

"Why did she hang up on you in the first place anyway?" Naruto asked through a huge mouthful of ramen.

The onyx eyed teen scowled at his blonde brother and threw a pillow at him for being so disgusting, and also for his stupid comment. "Dobe, she didn't hang up on me. Sakura was busy and said she would call me back." he grumbled irritably.

The blonde mouthed an "O" in understanding. "If that's the case, then why are you acting like it's the end of the world?" he asked innocently.

After a moment everyone, besides Sasuke, burst out into fits of laughter.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

"So~," started Izuna as he leaned against his palm and stared at Sakura longingly. "Do yo have a boyfriend?" he asked.

The rosette spared him a glance before turning back to her iPod. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I do."

"What's his name?"

"I'm not obliged to give you that." she quipped in boredom.

"Why not?" he asked in annoyance, getting really tired of her nonchalant answers.

"Wouldn't you rather meet him in person?"

"Is that going to happen?"

"Possibly."

"Is he scary?"

Sakura smirked and cocked her head to the side and stared at him with wide, innocent eyes. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."

Izuna sat back up and backed up on to the couch, he was pouting, feeling very dejected at the moment. But before anyone could think he that he had finally given up, a smirk graced his features. The other two didn't bother speaking to either Sakura or Izuna. They knew how much of a flirt Izuna could be. They also knew that he doesn't back down from a challenge.

"Don't start anything, Izuna." voiced the hooded figure.

Said male scoffed and turned away from his sister and his male companion. "Mind your own business, K." he snapped angrily.

Before "K" could snap at Izuna for being rude and disrespectful, the door opened and stepped in a furious looking Pein and a stressed out looking Konan.

"Get whatever it is you brought with you and get going." the orange haired male barked out, making the three scurry up to their feet and grab their bags and jackets and follow the two out of the door and out of the hotel room. They even went as far as slamming the door as loud as they could as they went.

Sakura turned her iPod off and stepped out of her room, walking to the living room where she knew Itachi and the others would be. As she came in, she noticed the angry expressions of her band mates and started to wonder whether or not she should ask about what had happened.

_`Do you think it's safe?'_

_**`How should I know?'**_

Sakura sighed inwardly and stepped closer to the guys and sat on the arm of one of the chairs. "So... What happened?" she asked hesitantly.

Kisame was the first to speak. "Well, the good news is that Sasuke and the boys can come back. The bad news however..." he trailed off, a scowl forming slowly.

"We have to quit Akatsuki... No matter what, yeah." Deidara finished with a growl.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why?!" she asked.

"Due to the fact that Pein practically owns us, that's why." snapped Hidan.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples. This could not be happening. "I don't believe this. What are you going to do?" she asked skeptically to Itachi.

The elder Hatake stayed silent for a few minutes before speaking. "Well, I say we should just form a new band. We didn't come this far for nothing, and I'm sure as hell not going to let Pein get away with what he did."

Deidara hopped up on his feet and smiled walking over to Sakura and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Awesome, yeah! And Sakura here is going to help us out!" he stated with a nod.

The rosette blinked a few times and looked up at the blonde male. "What, if you mean singing, then I already knew that..." she trailed, noticing the looks they all were giving her. "What?"

Sasori stood and paced the room as he started to speak. "Pein and Konan took all of our instruments and music."

Sakura gaped like a fish out of water. "What!?" she looked over towards an angry looking Itachi. "Can he do that?"

"He did do that!" Hidan exclaimed loudly, his arms waving around in the air dramatically. Dropping his arms to his sides, he frowned deeply and slumped into the couch. "He took my piano..." he trailed off sadly.

Kakuzu slapped the silver haired DJ on the head. "I believe that was my piano. I bought it." he grumbled lowly.

"Yeah! Besides, Hidan-san never used it anyway! Tobi's the one that always used it! Tobi wants it back." Tobi exclaimed sadly.

Sakura shook her head at all of them... Is this seriously what happens to males when precious cargo are taken out of their hands? "Well, what are we going to do? How can we continue on with the competition if we don't have any sheet music or instruments?" she asked skeptically.

They all went silent at that. Thinking about what all they could do.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

"So, she hasn't called yet, huh?" Naruto asked as he sat next to his younger brother against the wall.

Sasuke shook his head and plopped his phone down on his lap. "Hn."

"Why don't you try calling her?" the blonde asked confusedly.

"Hn."

"So what if she's busy! What if someone's hitting on her?" he asked skeptically with a raised brow.

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered as he slapped his blonde brother over the head. "Go bother someone else."

"I don't wanna~!" he whined, making Sasuke flinch by how shrill Naruto's voice was.

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke stood up and cleared his throat, making everyone turn towards him in wonderment. His onyx eyes looked at them in nonchalance as he placed his hands in his pockets he said, "Well, I'm not going to just sit around here in this dump and do nothing." he started walking towards the door, not even sparing his brothers a second glance as he walked out.

The others slowly followed, silently wondering what they were going to do without hardly any money and no idea as to where they were headed.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Kakashi was silently reading his precious book when Anko had called him and told him she needed to speak with him. His eyes had rolled upward, thinking that his wife never wanted to just "talk" to him. What she wanted was to order him around and make him heed to her every beck-and-call. "I'm coming dear. What is your craving for the day?" he asked nonchalantly, not glancing up from his book.

Anko pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "What is with you and that darn book? Why don't you ever pay any attention to me?"

_`Oh, here we go...' _Kakashi thought as he inwardly rolled his eyes, again. "Don't worry honey, you know you are the only one for me." he muttered as he turned the next page of his book.

Anko growled lowly under her breath and tried to sit up. "You jerk, you're cheating on me aren't you?!" she shouted loudly, still struggling with trying to sit up straighter on the bed.

The masked man actually took the liberty to glance at his distressed wife. "What is going through your head this time?" he asked hesitantly.

Anko stopped what she was doing to look at her husband with wide eyes, bubbles of tears started to prick at the corners. "You didn't deny it! You are cheating on me! It's that skank from the porno shop isn't it? I knew you were banging her behind my back when she wouldn't stop winking at you!" she blubbered loudly, pushing his hands away as he tried to help her sit up on the bed.

The silver haired man tried really hard not to roll his eyes. "Anko, the woman winks at everybody, intentionally and unintentionally. And really, if I wanted to cheat on you, do you seriously think I would choose someone as low as a cashier?" he questioned.

Anko paused for a second, then looked up at her husband with tear filled eyes. "You still didn't deny it!! You jerk! I hate you!" she sobbed.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temples. _`I swear, this woman.' _he thought with a low chuckle. "Anko, you should know that I would not cheat on you, especially when you're carrying my kid. Whatever it is that your messed up hormones are telling you, I assure you, they are not true." he reassured, patting her head affectionately and kissing her on the cheek softly.

With a soft sniff, Anko nodded and wrapped her arms around Kakashi's neck. "Sorry I've been such a witch." she muttered into his shoulder.

He sighed and rubbed her back saying, "I wouldn't be a good husband if I couldn't stand your random mood-swings."

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Sakura sighed as she tapped her pencil repeatedly against her notebook. "Maybe we can call your dad...?" she suggested, looking towards a stoic Itachi.

The elder Hatake shook his head. "There's not much he can do. Instruments cost a lot of money and he has more important things to worry about." he stated, thinking about his mother and his unborn sibling.

The rosette nodded in agreement. "Right..." she trailed off awkwardly, looking around uneasily. "There's not much to do then, is there? I mean... What can we do without music or gear... The jerk even managed to take our amps!" she exclaimed with an indignant snort.

Deidara grunted and continued to type on his lap-top.

Sasori raised a brow and nudged the long haired blonde male with his foot. "What are you doing, Deidara?"

Said blonde held up a hand to silence the red head, surprising everyone with that simple action. Everyone knew Deidara showed extreme respect for Sasori, and it was always a great surprise when he did, in some way, ignore the red head. "Hold on, yeah." he murmured quietly. "I'm looking into this competition, thing..." he trailed off.

"Why?" Kisame asked, leaning over the blonde's shoulder to get a better look at the computer screen. "Oh..." was all the blue skinned man managed to say.

"What is it?" Itachi asked, sitting straighter on the couch.

Kisame looked up and smirked. "The competition offers instruments for some band members who had either lost there's or has had there's stolen. When can just give them some of our information and documents and that will clear that part up."

Sakura smiled widely in understanding. "Awesome! Then all that's left is the music and lyrics!" she exclaimed.

"We're all going to have to start from scratch." Deidara quipped.

They all nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard." Kisame shrugged.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

While Sakura and the Akatsuki figured out what they were going to do. The others walked around London aimlessly, not really having a destination, but also not really wanting to go back to their stuffy motel room. They all managed to talk about things, including the stuff that has happened to Ino. It took a while for Shikamaru to get it all out and everything, but he managed to do it.

Of course the guys were sad, though only Naruto and Kiba showed it on the outside, the two blubbered for at least an hour before they managed to hold in their sniffles and sobs.

Not only that, Naruto kept on complaining about how weird Hinata had been acting lately. All they did was roll their eyes and think about how much of an idiot their brother was. They were beginning to think he was never going to figure it out; I mean the poor girl made it so blatantly obvious, only an incompetent moron would have to miss it. Well, then again... there is Naruto.

"I mean, don't you think it's weird, every time I talk to her or wave at her she blushes, and don't even get me started on what she does when I try to touch her!" he complained, his arms behind his head and a stick of chocolate pocky hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Gaara and Shikamaru gave each other looks and rolled their eyes upward. With a long drawled out sigh, Kiba smacked his elder brother on the head and gave him an, "Are you seriously that dumb?" look. Naruto stopped his ranting to look at his brother.

"What?"

Kiba shook his head. "Are you really that stupid? I mean, come on, how can someone be that oblivious!? I would have thought you realized this weeks ago, but no, those blonde chemicals in your brain are making you even more stupid than you were when you were a brunette!!!" he shouted in exasperation.

Naruto held up his hands. "Whoa, dude, chill out. What are you talking about?" he asked confusedly.

Everyone groaned and Kiba actually slapped his forehead. "Oh for the love of Kami..." he trailed off.

Sasuke sighed and decided it was about time his brother had a wake-up call. "Naruto. Think real hard. Why would Hinata-san do all those things? Why would she blush a deep crimson whenever you talked, smiled, or even waved "hello" towards her. Or why would she faint just by you wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulder, or giving her one of your friendly hugs. Hmm?" he asked, wondering why he was even taking his time to help the clueless blonde in the first place.

The orange clad teen dazed off for a few minutes before his eyes widened and an imaginary light bulb blinked on over his head. With a few blinks he looked over at his brothers in surprise and said, "Oh, my god! I'm such an idiot!" he exclaimed, pulling his spiky blonde hair and banging his head against a wall.

"Stop that, Naruto. You don't need to lose anymore of what's left of your braincells." Neji commented dryly.

Naruto just scowled and walked on. "Hey, Sasuke?" he said after a minute of silence.

"Hn?"

"Can I see your cell phone for a second?" he asked innocently.

"Don't you have your own?" the onyx eyed teen questioned stoically.

"No..." he trailed off shyly, twiddling his thumbs nervously as they walked down the sidewalk.

Sasuke raised a brow in confusion. "And why not?" he asked.

"'Cause I accidentally dropped it in the toilet last night..." he trailed off once again.

The raven haired teen sighed and rolled his eyes, then threw his dark blue and black phone at his brother. "Don't you dare ruin. I will kill you." he growled.

The blonde just waved him off and scrolled through his younger brother's contacts. "Hey! When did you add Hinata-chan as your top ten?!" he asked with blazing blue eyes.

With a blank face he said, "When you smothered my face in the pillow and demanded that I add her as a friend." he bit out tersely. When he heard his brothers chuckle in the background, he began to imagine himself running his blonde, idiotic brother over with a bulldozer.

Naruto laughed at the memory and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, remembering that day fondly. Though, torturing Sasuke was always a joy to experience. He smiled foxily saying, "Oh, my bad Sasuke. But you know if I didn't take action, you would have never added her." he shrugged.

Sasuke scowled and smack the blonde over the head. "I had no reason to add her, you moron!" he exclaimed through grit teeth.

With a wave of his hand, Naruto walked off talking to Hinata, not even paying attention to his furious younger brother.

Sasuke stalked off, ignoring his brothers as they laughed at him.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

"So..." said Sakura as she paced the living room up and down, her cell phone to her ear. With a sigh she closed her phone shut. "Well, Sasuke isn't answering his phone, it's busy."

Kisame snorted a laugh and said, "Sasuke's actually using that thing?" he asked in surprise. "Bah! That's funny, the only time he ever used it was when he was talking to you or if he needed it for emergencies."

The rosette arched a brow in wonderment. "Really?" she said more to herself that anyone. "Interesting."

Deidara rolled his eyes and clapped his hands, snapping everyone out of their dazes. "Yeah, alright, enough of these distractions, we need to come up with some new songs, yeah. We'll call the guys later, right now we have more important things to worry about." he stated impatiently, tapping his pencil on his chin nervously. Anyone could tell out of everyone Deidara and Itachi had to be the most stressed, even if the elder Hatake didn't show it.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Right, he's got a very good point. Even if we don't have a guitar with us to go along with the tune; he's still got a point." She rolled her eyes as understanding finally flickered in Deidara's bright blue eye.

Itachi shook his head and stood up, walking towards the door. "Alright, we'll get everything tomorrow. I just got a text from Shikamaru. We're going to meet all of them at the restaurant we went to the other day." he stated and walked out the door.

Kisame shrugged and stood along with the others. "It ain't like we got anything better to do."

Sakura shook her head and followed behind without protest, at least she'd get to spend a little more time with Sasuke during dinner.

**_XxXxXxXxXxX_**

**A/N; Okay, this is the revised version of the 11th chapter. I hope you like and I hope all the previous mistakes are fixed. Sorry for everything. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**~blonde insomniac~**


	12. Chapter12 Love, Itachi's Guitar and Boys

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Special thanks to .uchihanin. For letting me use her characters.**

**Sorry if Sasuke is a little OOC... Yeah.**

_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**_

_**.**_

"So," Sasuke said as he held Sakura's hand as they followed everyone else out of the restaurant. "What went on today, you never answered your phone?" he questioned, giving her a sideways glance every now and again.

Sakura smiled a knowing smile and looked up at her boyfriend with a teasing glance. "You know, in my defense. You never answered your phone when I called either." she reiterated with a shrug.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around the pinkette's shoulders. "I actually had a good reason; I let Naruto use it." he stated nonchalantly, shrugging as she gave him a look.

The rosette arched a brow. "What happened to his?" she asked in wonderment, looking back in front of her, smiling as she saw Naruto and Kiba talking animatedly to each other.

The onyx eyed teen shook his head and let out a barely noticeable grunt, saying, "Something about dropping it in the toilet. I didn't want to hear the full details." he said with a scowl, his perfect features actually managing to make a face such as that look beautiful.

Sakura giggled at that and hugged Sasuke's waist. "Well, the reason I couldn't use my phone was because Akatsuki's new lead singer wound up taking it out of my back pocket." she said with a frown, remembering everything that had happened earlier.

_`That guy was a real creep, he even had the audacity to flirt with me!' _she complained inwardly.

_**`I don't see why you're complaining! The guy was hot, and I think it's totally awesome when you get to tell a guy you're already taken, right after he flirts with you too! It's so much fun.'**_

_`You really are sadistic aren't you?'_

_**`Ah, it's so so...'**_

_`Hmm...'_

It only took Sasuke about a second before he actually managed to comprehend his girlfriend's words. "What?" he looked at her like she had grown another head. "What do you mean Akatsuki's new lead singer?!" he asked, surprise written all over his face.

The pinkette sighed and crossed her arms and glared ahead of her. "It's exactly what it sounds like." she said with a hint of malice, thinking about how Pein and Konan just showed up and took everything, and even treated Itachi and the other band members like trash.

Sasuke sighed and brought Sakura back closer to his side, "Are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked, his eyes watching carefully as a little girl ran ahead in front of her parents, too young to understand how dangerous that could be. He sighed thinking it was just a normal reaction from having younger brothers.

"Well," she started, also noticing the child giggling happily down the sidewalk, well that is until her mother came and scooped her up into her arms. "They showed up earlier today, that's when I had to put you on hold, you know?" she continued on without him having a word otherwise. "Anyway, they acted like they completely owned the place. Seriously, I've never met them before but I knew they were up to no good. Sasuke, you should have seen the way they treated them. I swear, if Itachi hadn't of sent me back to my room I would have laid him in a new one." she exclaimed with fire in her eyes, only a glimpse of Inner-Sakura showing.

Sasuke smirked. "Of course you would." he agreed with a nod.

Sakura pouted and poked him in the stomach. "Don't make fun, Sasuke. You know what I can do, I'm like a ninja!" She joked as she struck a pose, smiling widely as she saw Sasuke try to hide an amused smile.

With a shake of his head, Sasuke pulled Sakura by the arm and held her comfortably by the waist. "Yes, you're definitely a unique little ninja." he murmured into her ear, not caring if the others were leaving them behind.

With a bright blush, Sakura nudged Sasuke with her elbow out of embarrassment. "Mou." she pouted, her cheeks puffing out adorably.

Sasuke smirked and continued saying, "So what are you guys going to do about Pein and his entourage? Do you have a plan or something?" he finally asked, curious of what plans his brother and his band-mates have come up with.

"Well yeah, we're going to go to the registration booth tomorrow to see if we can get our instruments, we only have till the end of next week to get everything ready." she stated with a stressed sigh.

At that, Sasuke blinked slowly, registering the pinkette's words carefully. "Wait," he said, stopping in his tracks and pulling Sakura back by her wrist. "What do you mean "get your instruments"? What happened to the ones you already had?" he watched his girlfriend's facial features carefully.

With a small laugh, Sakura rubbed the back of her head, "Well, I don't know how he managed to think that he had the right, but Pein took all our sheet music and instruments." she said solemnly.

"What? He doesn't have the right to do that!... Well, I guess it's a good thing that Itachi didn't bring his favorite guitar..." he trailed off, obviously thinking to himself.

Sakura shook her head. "Well, I guess we can mark off one guitar on the imaginary list of things to do." she rolled her eyes and unconsciously let go of Sasuke's hand.

"Hn," grunted Sasuke, still not fully paying attention. "I guess we could call dad and see if can send it."

She shook her head and smacked his shoulder. "We don't have time for that, the concert is only days away! What are we going to do?!" she exclaimed, completely stressed out over everything that has happened. You'd think after everything that has happened since she first came to know the Hatake's, everything would have calmed down. But no, now she has to deal with band stealing morons, and cheating red-headed annoyances.

_`Why am I being punished? The world is getting back at me for what I did to Rin in the third grade, isn't it?' _she inwardly sulked, hunching over into herself dejectedly.

_**`Oh, quit being a baby... We'll get through this. Knowing Deidara and Itachi's famous writing skills, we'll be ready for the competition. And we'll win it too! Shannaro!' **_Inner-Sakura exclaimed, throwing her white outlined fist into the air.

_`Glad to know one of us still has their enthusiasm...' _the rosette trailed off with an inward roll of these eyes.

_**`Ugh! Stop being so depressing!!! You make me want to hurl, all your sad emotions are suffocating me! I need my space woman!'**_

_`You're starting to sound like Shikamaru.'_

_**`I wouldn't have to if one of us would stop moping around, having a rainy black cloud hovering over-head... Yeesh!'**_

At seeing his girlfriend's worry etch throughout her posture, Sasuke started to gently rub Sakura's back comfortingly. "Well, look at it this way. One more week and everything will be over with." he said with a shrug.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, too bad we had to worry more about practice and all this other drama instead of having fun. I mean, we almost broke up on our first date here... I'm telling you, I think London is cursed." she stated seriously.

With a roll of his eyes Sasuke brought the pinkette back over to his side and buried his nose into her shoulder.

The rosette giggled as Sasuke's nose nuzzled into her neck, and she almost fell weak at the knees when his warm breath ghosted over her sensitive skin._`Yep, this is definitely why I love him...' _she thought as Sasuke placed gentle, loving kisses down her throat.

Right at that moment, nothing existed, just her and Sasuke. And that made her feel good, she hadn't had the time to bask in his embrace since they arrived in London, it felt nice to just forget about everything and relax. Thinking about it now, she realized her and Sasuke's relationship was just now starting to blossom more, seeing as it has only been a couple weeks since they started getting together. And they definitely didn't want a repeat of what they went through last time.

With a long, content sigh Sakura wrapped both of her arms around Sasuke's waist and held on tightly.

Sasuke noted how the rosette's embrace gotten a tad bit tighter, and looked down asking, "What are you thinking about?" he muttered quietly, pulling away so that he was looking at her.

With a warm smile, Sakura stood on her toes and kissed him gently on his chin and then pulled away and went up till she was only a breath away from his soft, sweet lips. With a grin she spoke softly against his lips, "I was thinking about you, and how much I missed you..." she trailed off, looking into his deep onyx eyes. "I really missed you, I barely get to see you anymore." she whispered sadly.

"It's only temporary, I was beginning to wonder why Itachi said we could come back to the hotel." he stated.

She smiled up at him and went to kiss his nose. "You should be happy about this, you get to see a lot more of me." she said with a hint of flirtation.

As Sasuke opened his mouth to comment, something or more like _someone _interrupted him.

"Hey, are you two done sucking face, or what?!" Naruto shouted from a little ways down, a cheeky grin on his face, and definitely not ashamed of himself for interrupting his brother's moment with his girlfriend.

With a growl, Sasuke glared at his blonde, idiotic brother. "God, that kid has some impeccable timing." he muttered, more to himself than to anyone; He really wanted to beat his brother into a pulp.

The rosette giggled and pulled on Sasuke's arm as she started to walk towards the others. "Come on, Sasuke. Can't keep them waiting, now can we?" she teased, looking over at him with a smile.

Sasuke twitched noticeably. "If it was up to me, I would make them wait till their old and gray." he growled.

"So cranky." she stated with another giggle.

"Hn."

"So first thing we need to do is go to the admins office and try to get us some instruments, yeah..." Deidara trailed off as he wrote down a list of things to do, and also ate a biscuit while he was at it.

Everyone sat around him in the hotels living room, either eating the rest of their dinner, or finishing up the little deserts they had ordered from room-service. They had spent half the day just hanging out, and now they were getting things cleared up for what they were going to be doing for the following week. Sasuke had even took it upon himself to call Kakashi and have him overnight Itachi's guitar in the mail.

Surprisingly, Itachi had forgotten all about his favorite guitar and had been excited about being able to use his guitar after so long... Well, on the inside that is.

"I still can't believe Pein did that," Neji said with a frown. "I mean, you guys have known him since you started Akatsuki."

Kisame scoffed. "Yeah well... I knew it was a bad idea to get involved with him from the start." he grumbled, leaning his head against his hand and scowling off into space.

"Sure you did, yeah." Deidara stated with a roll of his eye, blowing a few strands of hair out of his face.

"Who asked you?" the blue skinned man retorted, smacking the elder blonde over the head.

"Enough you morons." Sasori growled, smacking both Kisame and Deidara over the head. "With all that's going on, we don't need you two arguing every five seconds; That goes for you too, Deidara." the crimson haired drummer stated.

"He's the one that started it, Dana!" the blonde tried to explain.

"Well I'm finishing it." stated the red head.

At hearing Sasori and the others argue, Naruto leaned a little bit closer towards Kiba and Shikamaru. "Yeesh, who knew Sasori-san could be such a hard a-"

Before the blonde, knuckle-head could finish his sentence, Sakura walked up and smacked him over the head for being rude.

" Tobi, you and Deidara come with me, we'll try and see if we can't get those instruments today. Is that alright with you, Itachi?" asked Sasori as he started heading for the door, making sure to swap Naruto over the back of the head; said person whined and rubbed his head while glaring at the red head.

The brunette shook his head. "Go, and if you can, try and see if you can't get any information on the members to the "New Akatsuki"."

"Sure thing, Boss!" Tobi chirped, following the two members out the door. Itachi just shook his head and sighed, wondering if they were really going to be able to do everything that needed to be done by the end of the week.

_**XxXxXxXxXxX**_

"Ha, I still can't believe we took their gear! That was too fun." stated Izuna as he sat comfortably in one of the reclining chairs.

Pein just rolled his eyes and continued to tune up one of the guitars. "Yes, now that we know you had fun, why don't you make yourself useful and help out. You still have to practice these songs, remember?"

With a roll of his eyes and a wave of his hand, Izuna just ignored Pein and decided to take a sit back and relax. "I'll get to it later." was all he said as he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

Konan scoffed and rolled her eyes at the younger male that was now loudly snoring on her couch. "Tell me, why is it that my furniture has to suffer with these adolescent fools?" she asked herself with a mournful sigh.

The orange haired man smirked at the sulking woman. "Eventually they'll get serious, for now we'll let them do as they please. I assure you, Itachi won't get anywhere without their necessary uses." he grinned menacingly, motioning to the instruments that sat in a corner.

"How do you know that for sure, who knows, they could wind up getting some help..." shrugged Yasake carelessly as she filed her nails, stopping for a second to examine them, and then starting over.

Pein shook his head. "There's no way they can get everything prepared on time by the end of the week. They're as good as finished." he chuckled menacingly.

"Don't underestimate the competition, Pein. You never know what might happen. Expect the unexpected." stated K, who was sitting on the window seat.

"Speaking of unexpected- Why didn't you show that Sakura chick who you were?" Izuna asked curiously, his eyes snapping open unexpectedly, scaring the mess out of Yasake.

The hooded figure shrugged and slowly brought back his hood, his features took on a crooked smile. "I thought I would play with her a little longer, before I actually showed her my true identity." he stated.

"Does it really matter?" Konan sighed, resting her cheek against her palm, looking at the figure in confusion.

K scowled and waved his hand. "Of course it does! Now stop bothering me." he grouched, slouching back into the wall, looking out the window in boredom. Lost in his own thoughts.

With that, Izuna smirked. "Whatever you say, Kai..."

_**XxXxXxXxXxX**_

**Next Day: Six days before Competition-**

"Yosh!" exclaimed Deidara as he and the band members all piled into the house, carrying drum sets and guitar cases, along with a high tech piano-keyboard.

Sakura, who had been quietly talking to Gaara, looked up and commented, "That was pretty fast..." she stated nonchalantly.

They just nodded as they moved things around and set everything up properly. "It didn't take long since we called earlier yesterday, they had everything ready by the time we got there. All we really had to do was sign some legal documents, and that was it." stated Kisame as he carefully placed three guitars he was carrying down against the wall in a far corner, away from Naruto and Kiba.

"Well this is good, you got one thing covered, now all that's left is-" Neji started to say, but was quickly interrupted when Deidara practically hopped across the room and smacked his hand over the long-haired brunette's mouth.

The long-haired blonde smiled cheekily at Neji's unperturbed expression. "Do not fret dear little one... We have everything under control, yeah. We do not need you voicing out anything, for the walls have ears, and the windows have eyes." his smile broadened at Neji's wide-eyed stare of utter surprise.

"Deidara."

"Yes Itachi-san, yeah?!" Deidara exclaimed happily, turning back to their lead singer, his hand still covering Neji's mouth. Not noticing how the usually pale boy seemed to turn a small hint of purple.

"He can't breath." was all Itachi said as he walked off out of the hall with the rest of the Akatsuki, besides Deidara, following behind going back to get the rest of their stuff.

With a yelp of surprise, Deidara immediately pulled his hand away from the brunette and continuously began to apologize as he backed his way out the door.

Shikamaru shook his head and yawned. "I will never understand how Itachi managed to find friends like those guys..." he trailed off, leaning his head back against the couch and muttering a small "troublesome" when he heard Neji wheeze from not having air for a period of time.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't even want to try and understand." was all he said as he curled his arm around his head and closed his eyes as he rested on the other side of the couch.

"- So, you understand everything now... Are you having any problems with anything?" Sakura asked as she and Gaara continued to talk quietly in the far corner of the living area.

The red-head simply shook his head "no" and just stared at the table.

The rosette sighed and leaned back against the chair. This was getting her nowhere, he hadn't said a word to her since he asked her to talk to him, and it was reaching about three hours since then. "Gaara, I can't talk to you if you don't tell me anything..." she trailed off, leaving room for him to jump in at any given time.

The younger male just shrugged and picked at a wood chipping on the table they were sitting at.

_**`This twerp is really starting to get on my nerves. Why'd he ask us to talk to him if he wasn't going to say anything. He's wasting our precious time with Sasuke-kun!'**_

_`Please do not start complaining now of all times. Gaara needs me and I'm not going to have you get in the way. He's probably just nervous... We haven't talked in a while.'_

_**`I blame that all on Naruto and his access baggage. By that I mean Karin...'**_

_`I know what you meant!'_Sakura snapped inwardly. She cleared her throat and sat up straighter when she noticed Gaara was giving her a funny look. "What?" she asked, feeling around her face for something that could have stuck to it. "Is there something on my face- Is it a bug?!" she started to panic.

Gaara rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No. There's no bug." he drawled out in boredom.

The pinkette just sighed again. "Then what is it?"

"I fell asleep the other night..." he trailed off, his facial features void of any emotion.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "Really?! How was it?" she asked, not wanting to sound too excited, just in case something went wrong and he had a nightmare.

The red-head paused for a minute before he said, "It was... Different...? If that's the word for it," he mumbled uncertainly, then shook his head. "I don't know . . . It's been a long time since I've last slept." he ended.

Sakura shook her head. "I see... Did you have a nightmare? Any dreams?" she asked curiously.

"Surprisingly, no, I didn't." he shook his head.

"That's awesome! Aren't you glad, maybe now you can start sleeping!" she exclaimed, with a big smile on her face.

Gaara just nodded in agreement. "Hn, it'll take a while for me to get used to of course. But gradually, if I still don't have that dream, then everything will be fine." he said a smile twitch of his mouth indicated that he was happy about his progress. Even if he wasn't showing it on the outside.

The rosette smiled and nodded, clapping her hands. "Yes! Now we're getting somewhere, all that's left for us to do is get us back into a group meeting with your brothers when we get back to Konoha." she stated, jotting down something in a notebook she had apparently pulled out of nowhere.

"Alrighty!" she sighed with a warm smile, standing up and stretching. "Who's in for a night out of fun after a long day of stressful nonsense?!" she asked loudly, gaining the attention of most of everybody in the room.

The majority of the people raised their hands and started to stand.

_`Tomorrow is going to be a long day, might as well take the time now to have some fun.'_

_**XxXxXxXxXxX**_

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the late update, I know I've been lacking when it comes to being punctual in updating; I hope you liked this chapter. There was a little more fluff than what I usually do, I guess those of you who wanted more SasuSaku will be happy. I know it seems like I'm probably dragging it along but it'll get more better in the next chapters. Sorry for any mistakes that there may be.**

**I want at least 25 reviews before I update again, I know it seems stingy, but I need reviews to make sure I'm doing things right. Thanks! Please review!**

**~blonde insomniac~**


	13. Chapter13 Learning, Growing, and Boys

**A/N. Hey people, yay the thirteenth chapter, this was actually nine pages. Please enjoy!**

**Note: The song is Turn It Off, by Paramore.  
**_Sakura'  
_**_`Itachi, Deidara'  
_**I switched a few things up, Deidara isn't playing the bass, Kisame is.

___

___

___**_  
_**

_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style.::**_

_**.**_

Sakura yawned tiredly as she walked along with Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki, all of them, including herself, carrying instruments and amps back to the auditorium. They had decided that they were going to, instead of bringing and taking the instruments back and forth, they were just going to leave them in the care of the people who took care of the equipment. They decided that that was a safer and easier way to make sure things didn't get messed up.

"Tell me again why it was necessary to do all this moving at..." she paused to take a look at her watch, then frowned deeply at the result. "Five-thirty in the morning." she commanded tiredly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Deidara smiled and patted her head roughly, making the poor rosette stumble from the weight of his hand. "Ne, we still have a lot to do today, I spent all night editing all my lyrics. We have to practice, we only have five days left to get everything done, yeah."

Sakura pouted and grunted as she readjusted the strap to the guitar case as she hefted it comfortably on her shoulder. "If that's the case, then why are you wasting my energy by making me help carry this stuff? You're men aren't you?!" she exclaimed as they walked ahead of her into the building, completely ignoring her protests.

"Mou, those guys are such meanies..." she trailed off, not caring if she was talking to herself.

_**`Cha!! Let's give 'em a piece of our minds! We'll show them not to make us their pack mule!' **_Inner-Sakura exclaimed indignantly.

Sakura sighed and blew strands of hair out of her eyes as she continued forward, grumbling to herself as she listened to Deidara and Tobi argue.

"Alright, now that that's all cleared up, let's get some practicing in, yeah!" the long haired blond shouted, his bass already unpacked and hanging limply over his shoulder.

The rosette moaned in protest as Kisame and Hidan dragged her unceremoniously up the stage and in front of the mic. With a sigh she studied the sheet music Itachi forced in front of her and read and re-read everything carefully.

"Hold on," Kisame spoke up walking up behind Sakura and stopping her from continuing. "I think we should do something first before we continue..." he trailed off.

"What?" everyone asked curiously, including Sakura, looking up into the strangely colored man's beady black eyes.

He smirked a toothy smile and took his guitar off. "I think we should teach little Pinky here how to play the guitar." he nodded, thinking his idea was brilliant.

Sakura just looked at him like he was insane. "And why should we do that?" she asked skeptically.

"Because, you're going to be in one of our songs. We need and extra guitar player for some of our songs. And the way you memorize lyrics, it shouldn't be too hard to get you to remember how to play a few chords. Here, why don't I teach you while Itachi and the others get to know their new instruments." he stated, taking a crimson guitar out of its case.

Kisame smirked and handed it to her carefully. "This here beauty is a Gibson, she's one of the best, so you break it, it's your head. Got it?" he questioned, raising an invisible brow.

All Sakura could do was nod in affirmation and slowly pulled the strap around her shoulders and adjusted it comfortably.

The blue skinned man nodded as he eyed the way she looked with it. "Yep, I knew red was your color."

With a roll of her eyes, Sakura tugged and a string and said, "Well it better, I have pink hair, so red is my primary color for everything I wear." she stated with a shrug.

Kisame smacked his forehead. "Whatever, alright. What I'm going to do is..."

_**XoXoXoXoX**_

"What do you think Sakura-chan and the others are doing?" Hinata asked as she played with a strand of her dark purple hair, watching as Ino and Tenten trifled through many racks of clothes. They; Tenten, Ino, and of course Hinata herself had been shopping all day looking for outfits for not only themselves, but also for Sakura and The Akatsuki.

They were doing this, knowing Sakura wouldn't have time to be doing, let alone thinking about shopping, and the Akatsuki were less than likely to care about their appearance.

Tenten smiled and turned around facing the Hyuuga Heiress and said, "I overheard Kisame mumbling to himself earlier about wanting to teach Sakura-chan how to play the guitar. Though, I would love to see how that turns out!" she smiled happily and turned back around, taking and putting back many shirts in the process.

"Right," Hinata smiled rubbing the back of her head while blushing. "Well at least we get to do something for Sakura."

The two nodded and continued down the aisle. "Hey, do you think we should get some clothes and stuff for Shika-kun and Neji also?" Ino asked Tenten, looking over where she could see the aisle for men.

The brunette shrugged and made her way over to that exact area. "Yeah, why not, Neji and I haven't been on a date since we've been here, I guess now is as good as a time as ever to get him to take me out for some dinner." she smiled slyly.

Ino shook her head and wrapped her arm around Hinata's. "Right, and you my dear princess can use your impeccable taste to pick out some nice things the boys will like but will also look classy."

The purple haired heiress smiled and shook her head at her friends. "Alright." she agreed.

"While we're at it, Hina-chan, why don't you look for an outfit that Naruto will like..." Tenten suggested, already pulling out a few shirts for Neji.

"Yeah!" Ino agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Naruto will be so grateful, he'd been an... for lack of better word, idiot for not asking you out on a date for doing such a nice thing." she stated, nodding knowingly.

"Are you s-sure he would even want to go out with me?" the now embarrassed heiress asked.

Tenten snorted. "Of course he would!"

"Yeah Hinata, it's totally obvious how much that kid likes you." Ino stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh~," Hinata drawled dazedly. "Hey... Can I ask you guys a question?" she whispered shyly.

Ino turned around quickly. "Of course you can Hina-chan, we're your best friends! We're here whenever you need us!" she exclaimed loudly with a smile.

The young heiress nodded and fiddled with her fingers, blushing and moving around in her seat uncomfortably.

The brunette walked over to her friend and knelt down till she was eye level with the pearl eyed girl. "Take your time." she reassured.

"Right," Hinata muttered and then looked up at her friends. "Why do you think Naruto hasn't asked me out since he broke up with Karin . . . again?" she asked.

Ino and Tenten exchanged looks and then turned back to their upset friend. With a warm smile, the blonde patted her friends head and said, "Don't worry Hinata-chan, I'm sure that idiot's banging his head against the wall thinking of ways he could ask you out." she smirked over towards Tenten and winked.

_**XoXoXoXoX**_

"Why, why, why, why, why, why..."

"Naruto, you Dobe, stop banging your head against the wall before you lose anymore of what little braincells you have left." Sasuke commanded, holding his hand out in front of the wall so his blonde brother's already bruised forehead could land on something soft.

Naruto looked at his little brother with puppy-dog eyes. "But, but Hina-chan probably hates me now!" he whined loudly, making Sasuke and the rest of his brothers flinch at how loud he was.

"Dobe you of all people should know that Hinata Hyuuga is the last person on this planet that could possibly, ever hate you." he commented dryly, rolling his eyes as the blonde knuckle head rubbed his nose along his shirt sleeve.

"B-But how could she not?! I mean, especially after I asked her out and then completely blew her off, for that lying, cheating no good Karin of all people!" He sniffed loudly and covered his face with his hands. "Waaaah! I'm a horrible potential boyfriend!" he whined in a high pitched voice.

"Oh my god, make him stop!" Kiba shouted over his brother's wails. "This is so embarrassing..." the dog lover said to himself.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered, readjusting his pillow so that it was covering his ears.

Neji and Gaara rolled their eyes as Sasuke tried to calm their brother down. Though, truthfully, the dark haired teen was failing miserably.

"Argh!" Sasuke snapped glaring at his brother. "This is getting ridiculous." without so much as a blink, Sasuke grabbed his brother by the shoulder and used his free hand to punch the blonde square in his face.

That got everyone to look up, even a half asleep Shikamaru sat up quickly to look at his little brother in astonishment. Everyone was silent as they watched Naruto get up off the floor and rub the side of his cheek for a minute.

"Thanks, I needed that!" Naruto said with a smile, Sasuke just nodded. As he turned to walk away, he was suddenly met with a hand stopping him. He turned to look at his brother in confusion.

With a smile that scared the hell out of everyone, Naruto kneed Sasuke in the stomach and chuckled. "As if I was seriously going to let you off after giving me a black eye." with that said he helped Sasuke up and then lead him into the kitchen to eat a bowl of ramen.

Kiba blinked and looked over at his brothers. "Man, those guys have some weird mood-swings."

_**XoXoXoXoXo**_

Sakura sighed as she carefully watched Kisame play a few more notes on the guitar. It had already been at least two hours since they started and already her fingers were starting to hurt. Oh how she wished she didn't have to go through any of this torture. As if she could really learn how to play full songs on the guitar in no more than fice days.

"I don't know why you even bother," she said with another sigh. "You and I both know this is hopeless."

Kisame just ignored her and continued on showing her where and how to position her fingers. "Stop your whining already, you're seriously starting to give me a headache Pinky." he grouched, rolling his eyes as he leaned over to reposition her fingers back to their proper place. "Besides," he said. "It's not like you're not getting anywhere, you can already play a few notes; its not much but it's a start..." he trailed off, rubbing his chin as if he was thinking about something.

"You seriously have way too much faith in me." she mumbled, playing (trying to at least) the same chords Kisame had previously.

"You'll . . . be fine." He told her, letting out an annoyed breath as she made a horrible sound when her fingers slopped on a string. The noise had actually reverberated loud enough Itachi and the others stopped playing to look over in their direction.

Kisame cringed and covered his ears, wanting to get away from the dreadful sound. "Jesus small-fry!" he complained, poking at his ear with one hand as the other reached out to grip the neck of the guitar, making her stop what she was doing.

"Hey," she pouted. "I was on a role there!" she complained.

The blue skinned man shook his head. "Well you're going to have to follow in another direction." he grumbled, shaking his head. "Alright, that's enough for to day... We'll work on this a little more tomorrow."

The rosette just nodded and then she proceeded to remove the guitar from her person and set it rightfully in its case. "That sounds like a good idea." she commented. Letting out a grateful sigh of relief.

_`Thank you!' _she shouted mentally.

_**`Man, I though that would never end. Who'd a thunk that Shark-face over there would be so adamant in making us learn how to play that cursed thing.' **_Inner-Sakura complained.

_`I know, my fingers got calluses and everything.' _The pinkette whined mentally, looking at her fingers in self-pity.

As Sakura walked away, Kisame grumbled incoherent words under his breath as he watched the pinkette walk away and up the stage where the others were.

As she sat down on the edge of the stage, Sakura bobbed her head to the beat of the music the guys were playing, wishing they were singing instead of just playing the instruments. They were doing good even without the extra help of Kisame. As she was humming to the beat she felt her phone vibrate against her leg, she stood and walked away she brought her tiny phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked with a raised brow.

"_Sakura-chan!_" shouted a loud, yet familiar voice. The rosette pulled the phone away from her ear and cringed. _`The Baka, does he have to be so loud, all the time?'_

_**`What do you mean? You of all people should know that blondes are naturally loud...'**_

The pinkette growled and brought the phone back to her ear. "Naruto! What do you think you're doing, stop screaming so loud into my ear, I'll go deaf before you even tell me what it is you're bugging me about." she stated in a reprimanding tone.

"_Oops, sorry Sakura-chan,_" the blonde said in a quieter voice. "_But we have no time to dilly-dally! I really need your help..._" he trailed off.

Sakura crossed her arms and let the phone rest between her shoulder and her cheek. "And what, prey tell, is this big emergency?" she asked, waiting patiently for her blonde friend to reply back.

"_Well, it's not much really, I just need you to convince Hinata-chan to go down to the park that's by the docks... Please?_" he all but whined.

With a long drawled sigh, the rosette looked at her nails and pondered whether or not she should help. Could she really risk her friends heart over a dumb baka who couldn't even tie his own shoes without having to pause to see if he was doing it the wrong way. "Okay, give me one good reason as to why I should help you," she said. "And then we'll see if you're worthy of being Hinata-chan's boyfriend. Unless you just want to go out with her and then toss her to he side? Well then you've got another thing coming mis-"

"_Sakura-chan... Calm down._" Naruto mumbled, hoping he wasn't upsetting her more by telling her what to do.

Sakura snorted. "I am calm. Stop changing the subject, swear that you're not doing this because you're a jerk, but because you really, truly want to go out with Hinata! Swear! Don't make me come over there and throw you all the way to Timbuktu!" she shouted into the phone.

"_Waah! I swear! I'm not asking this of you for any selfishness, other than the fact that I really want to go out with Hinata-chan._" he stated.

The pinkette nodded. "Then there you go, you and I can finish up this conversation later, when I get back to the hotel. Don't do anything stupid while we're gone. And don't touch any of my stuff!" she said seriously, making sure he knew she meant business.

"_Hai, hai; I know all this already. Bye, bye!_" he exclaimed, ending the call with a resounding click and the dial tone ringing annoyingly in her ear.

As Sakura placed the phone back into her pocket with a shake of her head, she turned back towards the auditorium and walked back inside, hearing what seemed like to be an argument between Deidara and Hidan.

"No, yeah, you're not going to be changing up the beat!" the elder blonde shouted, his hands on his hips and his hair swinging ever which way his head moved.

"Like you seriously have a say in what can and can not be done, you flippin' pansy!" the silver haired man shot back.

Deidara gasped. "Stop calling me that, yeah!"

Hidan scoffed and turned his head and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Itachi, tell him that's efficient for us to change the tune a little on that one part."

The elder Hatake rubbed his temples in a tiredness. "Let's at least wait until Sakura's learned the song, if it doesn't change even when she's added in, then we'll take it up a notch."

Hidan and Deidara nodded in agreement, albeit, a bit reluctantly.

Sakura shook her head as she walked up the stage. "I don't see how you guys can't do anything but fight when it comes to discussing matters."

"Mind your own business, Pinky." Hidan huffed.

The rosette arched a brow. "Says the man who loves going through my underwear drawer." she mumbled.

"Anyway," Kisame jumped, stopping a fight that was surely bout to start between Sakura and Hidan. "Let's try out one of Sakura's songs with some lyrics." he suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement, Sakura and Hidan still glared at each other regardless, but Kisame knew that that was to be expected. He thanked whatever force there was out there that Hidan didn't start throwing F-bombs in every sentence he spoke.

Itachi sighed and stood from where he was sitting on a stool. "Alright, enough fooling around." he ordered, plugging in his amp, he played a few strings and tuned up his guitar as he waited for Kisame and Deidara to get prepared.

With an exhausted sigh, Itachi looked over at his band-mates and Sakura. "You ready?" he asked.

They all nodded...

_**XoXoXoXoXo**_

"So, Tsunade-sensei is going to test you?" Tenten asked, looking at Ino sadly. They were all sitting around a table at a small cafe, drinking green tea and eating scones.

The sapphire eyed girl just nodded and took a small sip of her tea. "Yeah, but I'm trying not to dwell on it too much." she said, looking down at her reflection she saw in her tea.

"I know you must have heard enough of this from your family, but I'm so sorry, Ino-chan." Hinata said, reaching over the table and wrapping her hand around her friends comfortingly.

With a wave of her hand, Ino laughed a twinkling laugh and said, "Its okay Hina-chan. Like I said, I'm trying not to dwell on it. I want to be strong, and it's a good thing that Tsunade is retaking the tests, that means I'll know for sure. I have a second opinion to look forward to. And I'm not going to make it seem like it's bad news till I get the results back." she stated with a confident nod.

Tenten and Hinata smiled at their friend. "Yosh!" the brunette exclaimed with a smile. "We'll stick by you through the end. Now, let's go see what Sakura's up to, maybe we can catch her while she's singing a song, I love her voice!" she exclaimed, standing up and leaving a tip for the waiter as she gathered all her things together.

The two girls nodded in agreement and also stood and grabbed their things.

_**XoXoXoXoXoXo**_

"So what are we going to be singing on this fine day, yeah?" Deidara asked, strumming away at his guitar, keeping a wary eye on Kisame as he picked away at the bass.

"Why don't we have Sakura try out that one song we've been working on." Sasori suggested, reaching over his drums to hand the music sheet over to Kisame.

Itachi nodded in agreement and said, "That doesn't seem like such a bad idea, it'll also get Sakura's vocals prepared for what is to come..." he trailed off.

Sakura arched a brow at the elder Hatake's comment. "What's that supposed to mean, exactly?" she asked curiously.

Deidara shrugged and walked over to her. "It just means that your vocal chords are going to be working extra hard these next few days, and you're going to be doing a lot of strenuous notes, and they're saying that this song will prepare you properly, yeah." he said in a matter of fact tone, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The rosette shook her head. "Whatever, let's just get this thing going." she muttered, standing in front of the mic. They just took their positions, and casually started to play, surprising Sakura cause she hadn't been ready, even though she said she was...

_`I scraped my knees while I was praying  
And found a demon in my safest haven  
Seems like its getting harder to believe in anything  
Than just to get lost, in all my selfish thoughts_

_I wanna know what it'd be like  
To find perfection in my pride  
To see nothing in the light?  
Turn it off  
In all my spite  
In all my spite  
I'll turn it off'_

Sakura smiled as she nodded her head to the song, not noticing as Ino, Tenten, and Hinata sneaked into the room. She lifted her head and took a deep breath and then started to sing the chorus.

_`And the worst part is  
Before it gets any better  
We're heading for a cliff  
And in the free fall I will realize  
I'm better off when I hit the bottom'_

Sakura laughed and waved as she watched her friends start to dance. They waved back, big smiles gracing their features in happiness.

_`The tragedy it seems unending  
I'm watching everyone I looked up to breaking, bending  
We're taking shortcuts and false solutions  
Just to come out the hero_

_Well, I can see behind the curtain  
**(I can see yeah, yeah)**  
The wheels are cranking, turning  
Its so wrong, the way we're working  
Towards a goal  
That's not existent  
It's not existent  
But we just keep believing'_

_`And the worst part is  
Before it gets any better  
We're heading for a cliff  
And in the free fall I will realize  
I'm better off when I hit the bottom'_

Sakura started jumping as Itachi and Deidara started playing harder, turning her head side to side. Her hair was probably all over the place. For some reason, she really liked this song.

_`I wanna know what it'd be like  
To find perfection in my pride  
To see nothing in the light  
Just turn it off  
In all my spite  
In all my spite_

_I'll turn it off  
Just turn it off...'_

_`Again~  
Again, again~'_

Before she could even take a chance to catch her breath after all that, she had to sing the next verse. But she smiled regardless; she now knew what they meant when they said this song was going to do some improvement on her vocals.

_`And the worst part is  
Before it gets any better  
We're headed for a cliff  
And in the free fall I will realize  
I'm better off when I hit the bottom~'_

_`And the worst part is  
Before it gets any better  
We're heading for a cliff  
And in the free fall I will realize  
I'm better off when I hit the bottom'_

"Woo! Go Sakura!"

* * *

**A/N; There you go everyone, I hope you like. As you can see, I finally got the Akatsuki singing. I got to say I liked how this chapter turned out. Now the next chapter will be around Naruto's attempt to get Hinata to go out with him :) That's something to look forward to.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think, they're much appreciated. Sorry for any mistakes that may be there.**


	14. Chapter14 Practices, Chances, and boys

**A/N; Hey people! Wow, it's been a while... Sorry, a lot has been going on and I haven't been into Naruto as much as I used to be. But I'm going to finish everything I've written. And I'm still going to be writing. Hopefully a lot more than I have been. Okay, without further adieu. Here's Chapter.14! Yay~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

**Special Thanks To: .uchihanin. For letting me use her characters and encouraging me into getting back to this after so long. And thank you to all of you who have reviewed.**

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* * *

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**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**

**.**

Sasuke sighed as he watched his brother pace around their shared hotel room for what seemed like the thousandth time. The kid was really starting to get on his last nerve. "Would you knock it off, you're giving me a headache." he finally snapped as the blonde turned once again to repeat the process.

"Your face is a headache," Naruto snapped, not really paying attention to his brothers as he continued to walk about the room.

Sasuke looked over at his brothers in confusion, wondering what had gotten his blonde brother so on edge.

Kiba just frowned and rubbed the back of his head in wonder, also wanting to know what had gotten into the orange loving idiot. "What crawled up your butt?" he asked in a bored tone, leaning against his palm casually.

Naruto narrowed his eyes but didn't do anything but groan and run a hand through his hair. "Oh, nothing, just that I'm trying to figure out a way to ask Hinata-chan out. That's all." he stated with a shrug, acting as if it was nothing, but his eyes said otherwise.

Shikamaru blinked in surprise. "Really? You're really going to ask Hinata out?" he snorted as Naruto nodded with a blush. "Good luck with that." he smirked.

"Hey, can't you be a little more supportive here?!" the blonde snapped irately.

"Someone's in a bad mood," Neji said as he watched Naruto glare and Shikamaru heatedly.

Naruto groaned and flailed around until he just decided to flop on the bed and bury his head into the pillow and try to ignore the feelings he was starting to feel for the Hyuuga Heiress. Kiba glanced over at his brothers as Naruto beat the living daylights out of that pillow.

"Yo, dude, it's not like this is your first time asking someone out." Kiba stated, wondering why his brother was being so dramatic over something so small and insignificant as asking a girl out.

Naruto sat up in irritation and scowled at his younger brother. "That's different... This is Hinata we're talking about here; I mean, she's not like everyone else." he sighed and threw himself back into the pillow, groaning and flailing around on the bed.

Sasuke arched a brow and looked over at his two elder brothers and shrugged, not really knowing what to do in this type of situation. Sure he had been in something slightly similar, but it wasn't like he was going to give his brother relationship advice when he was barely making it through his own. Sasuke mouthed to Neji and Shikamaru to try and talk to the blonde.

The two brunettes just looked at him as if he had grown two heads, he rolled his eyes and jerked his head in Naruto's direction, telling them that they should say something to him before he started doing something stupid.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. "Okay, first off, stop whining. I know you're nervous and that this is probably your second time ever dating someone. So, look at the big picture. Obviously Hinata likes you so you don't have to worry about whether or not she likes you back." he said is if he was talking about the weather. "So what's the problem? That's all there really is, it's not like she's going to say no when and if you ask her out." he shrugged.

Naruto sat up and turned to his brothers, crossing his legs and slumping into his lap. "But what if she hates me? I mean, I chose Karin over her... That's got to change some feelings she'd ever have for me." he said mournfully.

"No," Neji spoke up shaking his head. "That's just telling her that you really are more of an idiot than you set out to be." he stated honestly.

Kiba snorted and nodded his head in agreement. "He's got a point there."

Sasuke scoffed and threw a nearby pillow at their youngest brother. "What would you know about relationships?" he asked incredulously.

"Throughout middle school and high school, Kiba has had about twenty or so girlfriends..." Gaara stated as he walked by to go into the kitchen, wanting a snack. His book held firmly in front of his face as he walked over the mess his brother's left in their shared room.

Naruto and Kiba jumped at the sound of their brother's voice, eyes wide as they looked at the red head in shock. "Scary little demon..." Kiba muttered with a shiver running up his spine.

"Shut up, Kiba." Shikamaru said, reaching over to smack his brother over the head. "And you wonder why he has problems socializing?" he barked sternly, eying his younger brother in reprimanding.

Kiba ducked down apologetically. "Sorry..."

"Wait," Naruto said, holding up his hands and looking over at Kiba. "You really are a dog. How could you have so many girlfriends in such a short period of time? You're only fifteen you dirty runt!" he exclaimed, throwing pillows at the brunette. Who managed to catch every one that was thrown his way. But was then smacked in the face by one of his brothers' magazines.

"Hey! Watch it! So what if I had a lot of girlfriends, it's not like you need to know about it!" he grumbled, pouting petulantly and rubbing his forehead.

"Then how come Gaara knows?" Sasuke asked, not that he really cared or anything. He was just curious , he himself hadn't even had that many girlfriends. He didn't even think Itachi had that many girlfriends. And that guy was as bad as their father when it comes to women.

"Because one: We share a room," The red head said as he walked into the room, holding up one finger as he stood in the middle of the room. "And two: I'm his twin, I'm the closest thing he has to a best friend... Despite how much we despise each other." he stated walking back into his own little area in the corner.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Kiba smirked, as he leaned back against his folded arms.

* * *

Sakura looked up at the sound of her friends shouting as they ran to greet her. She smiled happily and ignored Kisame as he grumbled something about how they hadn't finished practicing yet. Itachi gave Deidara an exasperated look, feeling like they were never going to be finished by Friday. The blonde could only shrug helplessly as the Rosette ran up to the three girls excitedly.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me." Hidan grumbled as he set his headphones down and leaned back against the wall, shutting down his computer so the battery wouldn't run dead.

Sasori just silently twirled his drumsticks comfortably, turning side to side as he sat on his stool, watching in bored wonder as Sakura squealed and hugged her friends.

"What are you guys doing here? Why aren't you walking around in famous museums and gaining a higher education?" Sakura joked as she wrapped her around her friends' shoulders.

"Hey," Kisame said as he walked to the edge of the stage, narrowing his eyes at the four standing on the floor. "We're not finished. She still has to practice, you know." he growled as he picked at his guitar restlessly.

Ino waved her hand. "Relax Fish-boy, you'll get your turn soon." she huffed as she flicked her long locks out of her eyes. Then proceeded to talk Sakura's ear off.

Kisame bristled and was about go and teach that little blonde brat a lesson before Deidara had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and wrapped a tattooed hand over the pale skinned man's mouth before he had a chance to say anything inappropriate. "Mm croing tru till er!" was the muffled exclamation as the grinning guitar player pulled his band mate away.

"She's just a kid, I can't believe you're letting her get to you like that. You seriously need to work on that temper, my dear friend." Deidara admonished. Which seemed to have only made Kisame even more irritated and ticked.

"Do you want me to take out my annoyance on you? Because I'd be glad to just beat your face in." he said in a calm, even intimidating tone.

Deidara cleared his throat nervously and stepped away, motioning his hands towards Ino. "She's all yours, big guy." he stated with a smile.

Itachi and Sasori rolled their eyes. The brunette rolled his eyes and leaned against one of the amps, starting to get a little impatient. Sakura and every other one of his members knew they didn't have time to mess around. And yet, here they were not caring less about the decreasing amount of days they had till the contest, and yet they were getting nowhere in their practice.

He rubbed his temples, thinking whether or not he should start getting into his "Leader" mode or just make them work till they bleed later as pay-back. He seemed to ponder his options carefully, liking the latter part more and more as he watched his band members and their female singer joked and messed around with each other. Of course, not all of them were being nuisances; Sasori and Tobi were looking over their music notes, and Hidan was silently synthesizing in the corner near the back of the stage.

With as much calm and patience as one such as himself could muster, Itachi adjusted his guitar and plugged in the amp, and then proceeded to play a particularly none to pleasant note that managed to gain the attention of everyone in a matter of seconds. Kisame and Deidara immediately stopped arguing and faced their leader. They gulped as they saw the dark look in Itachi's eyes, knowing that the man was probably pissed beyond recognition.

"Now that I've got everyone's attention," Itachi said with a barely noticeable tick of his brow. "Can we please get back to practice? Yes, Sakura. That includes you too," he said before she even had a chance to ask.

Sakura pouted and stuck her tongue out at the elder brother of her boyfriend. Itachi just simply turned away from the petulant face and went on to lecturing an embarrassed Kisame and Deidara.

"That's it," he stated with a glare, his eyes looking over everyone. "No longer am I going to be nice; I don't care if you're dying! If you don't get your acts together and start focusing on practice; I swear to god none of you will ever, _ever_, be able to have kids!" he snapped with narrowed eyes.

Deidara and Kisame noticeably gulped and Hidan's eyes widened in nervousness. Sasori tried to act indifferent to Itachi's statement as he straightened up in his stool and stopped twirling his drumsticks. And of course, Tobi was being an idiot... as usual.

Sakura ducked her head as she looked at her friends apologetically. "Sorry, he's a little on edge."

Tenten crossed her arms. "A little?" she asked incredulously.

The Rosette shrugged. "No matter, I got to get back up there before he has a conniption." she stated, waving at her friends in goodbye as she walked back up the stage. Glad she had a chance to see them, her mood was already lifted and she didn't mind practicing so much anymore.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you. You still suck at playing the guitar." Kisame grumbled as he tuned his guitar so that it was fit for their next song.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the blue toned man. "Says the one who just had his ass handed to him on a silver platter." she shot back, her eyebrow raised delicately as she saw the elder male tense up noticeably.

All Kisame could do was growl as once again Itachi played a shrill note on his guitar to gain everyone's attention. "Enough. Hidan," the lead singer said as he nodded his head towards the silver haired male. Said male just nodded and pressed a button on his mixer.

Ino and the others waved goodbye to Sakura and started to walk away. They Laughed at the look Kisame was giving to his guitar.

* * *

"Okay, repeat what you're going to do again," Neji said to Naruto as they all sat in a circle in the middle of the den in their hotel room.

The blonde scratched his head and ticked off what he was supposed to do off his fingers. "Um, When Hina-chan get's here ask her calmly to go to the balcony with me. Then I'll strike up a conversation about how everything has been... and-" he was cut off at the sound of Shikamaru's phone going off. Said male smiled sheepishly and held up his phone to show the screen. Apparently Ino was calling.

"Sorry. Got to take this," he said with a shrug as he walked out of the room and into the kitchen. "Hey, babe..."

Kiba waved his hand and looked back at his blonde brother. "Forget him, continue." he ordered. "We need to make sure you won't screw this up. You can't depend on everyone else setting you up at the first chance of actually having a decent girlfriend. This needs to be all you." he stated.

Gaara rolled his eyes at his twin's choice of words. Wondering what he was even doing sitting there listening to their nonsense in the first place. He only had a few more days in London anyway, he should spending the rest of his time exploring the sights. With that thought, the red head snapped his book shut, surprising his brothers into attention. They looked up and watched as he walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Neji asked, immediately his paternal instincts kicking in. Remembering his mother's words of, _"You better keep an eye on your baby brothers or I promise you will not live to see another day."_ was her loving goodbye to her second eldest child.

Gaara rolled his eyes and held up his book. "I'm not going to spend the rest of my days in London being cooped up in this Hotel; I'm going to go and check out the scenery. If I find a park I'll probably be there reading a book.

The brunette nodded and dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, he threw it towards the red head who swiftly caught. "Keep that with you, Sasuke or Shikamaru if you need to. Keep and touch and don't talk to people you don't, I don't care if you're lost, we'll come and find you. Understood?" he asked.

Gaara held up his hand with the phone in a wave. "Yes, mom." he said with a smirk as he walked out and softly closed to door behind him.

Neji sat back down as it was confirmed Gaara knew everything. Sasuke, Kiba and Naruto were smiling teasingly. The brunette scowled and threw a cushion at them. "Before you even think about saying something- Don't."

Sasuke chuckled. "Why, Neji. I didn't know you cared so much." he said playfully as he fluttered his eyes. Naruto and Kiba cracking up as Neji flushed in embarrassment.

"What?! So sue me for not wanting to get my butt kicked by my own mother." he snapped irritably.

That only seemed to make them laugh harder. "Shut up, morons!" he growled as he launched himself at Sasuke; who stopped laughing as he was thrown back onto the floor, struggling as Neji pushed a pillow into his face.

At that point in time, Shikamaru walked back into the room, his phone held poised near his ear. He opened his mouth but paused as he saw four of his brothers rolling on the floor in a big heap of limbs. He cleared his throat loudly as he told the person on the other line to hold on.

The four immediately stopped messing around and looked up at their confused brother. Shikamaru arched a brow curiously. "Um... Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked.

Neji narrowed his eyes as he quickly pushed Kiba and Naruto away. "Shut up, idiot." he snapped, brushing the invisible dirt off his clothes. "What did Ino want?" he asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm still talking to her, actually. The girls want to come over and watch a movie over take-out. You mind?" he asked. "They found a Japanese place. Anything you want in particular?" he asked as he placed the phone back to his ear.

The response was instantaneous as he was bombarded with orders. He yelled over everyone, trying to understand what all they wanted. Scowling as he repeated the orders to his giggling girlfriend.

* * *

"Sakura, you're still off key." Itachi stated as they, once again, stopped in the middle of practice.

Said girl sighed inwardly. _**`That's the fifth time in the last hour and half that he's made us do the same verse. How high do we have to go before it's perfect?!' **_Inner-Sakura snapped in annoyance.

_`Calm down, he just wants us to win.' _Sakura thought as she apologized, once again to Itachi.

"Itachi, come on man. We've been doing this all day. Can't we stop for the day? Sakura's been singing every note to perfection. And you've got all your songs down. Can't we finish this tomorrow?" Tobi complained as he rubbed his hands, his fingers feeling numb from playing on the piano so much.

Itachi sighed and grumbled under his breath, but gave in, he knew his members needed to rest. "Fine, pack up. Sorry for snapping at you, Sakura." he apologized, setting his guitar in it's case.

The Rosette shrugged him off and proceeded to put the mics away. "Nah, don't worry about it. Come on, let's go. The girls told me they were going to have a movie night in our Hotel room. They also brought food." she stated with a grin.

"Well, that's our queue!" Deidara shouted as he gripped his guitar case and started running down the walkway to the side doors.

"Dang it, Deidara! Get back here and help carry this crap!" Hidan snapped as the blonde ran ahead of everyone.

"Would stop yelling." Sasori grouched as he glared at the silver haired male. Fed up with all their shouting. "It's not going to do you any good, he's not going to listen to you." he barked.

"What crawled up your butt and died?" Hidan asked sarcastically.

Sasori growled menacingly. Hidan just laughed and held his hands up in surrender. "I get, I get. I'll shut up."

"Smart move." Kisame mumbled as he walked next to the two. Itachi in front, and Sakura and Tobi conversing to themselves a little way back. Deidara turned around and stuck out his tongue at his band mates. "Slow pokes." he quickly turned around only to be knocked down by something- or someone.

"Okay... Ow." the blond mumbled as he rubbed his head, not once looking up.

Itachi and the others looked up to see Deidara on the ground with Pein and his new band members standing over him. "Uh-oh..." Sakura mumbled as she walked up to Kisame and the rest.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" Pein asked rhetorically as his eyes scanned over the seven band members of the "old" Akatsuki. "I see you still have yet to give up."

Deidara scoffed as he picked himself up, immediately glaring hatefully as he saw one of Pein's members holding his guitar. He stood up straight and stood squarely in front of the male. "I believe that," he said pointing the guitar hanging around the guys shoulder. "Is mine."

All the guy did was smirk and pick at the guitar's strings carelessly. "Really? Then why is it with me and not with you?" he asked in mock innocence. That only seemed to annoy the blonde more, the two quickly went into a one on one glaring match. Lightning striking between their eyes.

"Deidara," Itachi said with narrowed eyes, somehow managing to get directly behind the blonde without anyone noticing. "Let it go." he ordered, pulling the blonde to the side, indicating for them to go pass. Sakura and the others walked calmly passed them as they made their way to the door.

Itachi nudged Deidara out the door before calling out to his former friends. Pein turned his head with an arched brow. "Once we win, I expect you to give us back our stuff. Since you're too cheap to get your own." the brunette stated as he walked out and closed the door behind him.

Pein growled as he watched the male walk out with a cocky smirk on his face. Izuna held the orange haired male back as he started to head where Itachi had walked out. "Woah there!" the brunette shouted as he pulled Pein back.

Konan crossed her arms. "That went well."

Yasake scowled and placed her hands over her hips as she looked at her watch. "Where the heck is Kai? He was supposed to meet us here. She said as she popped the gum that she was chewing on.

"Be patient," Izuna stated as he cracked his knuckles. "He probably didn't want to run into that pink haired chick yet. He'll be here soon." he shrugged as he walked up the steps to the stage. At that statement, the door creaked open, and the person they had been talking about walked in with an air of indifference.

"You're late!" Yasake snapped.

Kai eyed her incredulously and dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, looking up as he flipped it open. "Only by five minutes you whiner. Don't be such a girl." he drawled as he walked coolly over towards the stage, ignoring the way Yasake gaped at him.

"Better close that big mouth of yours, or else bugs will fly in. But knowing you, I'm sure you wouldn't mind eating whatever bug flies in there," Izuna laughed as he knocked fists with Kai.

"You guys are such jerks." Yasake said under her breath as she plugged in her guitar to the amp, pouting as Izuna and Kai continued to tease and pick at her.

Pein sighed. "Just get to practicing. I refuse to let Itachi win. We'll show him." he stated confidently.

* * *

"Out of all the movies in the world, you had to choose a chick-flick?" Naruto asked incredulously as he eyed the aforementioned item held between his fingers.

Ino rolled her eyes and snatched the DVD out of the orange clad male's hands. "Don't be so dramatic, it's not a chick-flick... It's a romantic comedy." she stated as she handed Tenten the movie so she could turn it on.

This time Naruto rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air. "And there's a difference?!" he snapped, his eye twitching at the pointed look Ino was giving him.

"Don't be such a baby, if you don't like it go somewhere else," Ino said as she waved him away with a flick of her wrist, making the blonde male grumble under his breath. With a grunt he slouched into the couch next to Kiba. Who, none to gently, rammed his elbow into his side.

Naruto's eyes snapped in his little brother's direction in furry. "What?!" he hissed.

Kiba groaned and face palmed himself. "Idiot," he said through clenched teeth, jerking his thumb in Hinata's direction. "Now's your chance. What are you waiting for? Go ask to talk to her, privately. Hurry before the movie starts!" he growled tugging the blonde by the arm as he stood up from the couch.

"It's not that simple!" Naruto shot back, sweat starting to trail down at the back of his neck.

"The hell it isn't!" Kiba stated as he tugged harder, managing to yank the blonde off the couch and push him over towards Hinata where she had been chatting softly with Ino. Said blonde female eyed him warily as he nervously fumbled with his hands as he stopped in front of them.

"What do you want?" she asked with narrowed eyes. Hinata just tilted her head curiously, a small blush adorning her cheeks as she saw Naruto look over at her.

"I- uh- ahem... Uh, Hin- Hinata, would you like to go outside on the balcony with me?" he asked, not looking at her as he done this.

The Hyuuga Heiress flushed, but nodded and followed him shyly to the balcony. Tenten and Ino clapping silently and encouraging her to go on. They held up their fists as if to say "Fighting!". With that, Hinata stepped out of the Hotel room and shivered at the rush of cool hair that blew in her face.

"You think those two will be okay?" Sasuke asked incredulously as he watched Naruto and Hinata through the balcony window. "He's not the smartest kid on the block." he muttered, now starting to wonder if it was such a good idea to allow Hinata to subject herself to such a monkey.

Shikamaru yawned, not bothering to be modest and cover his mouth. "Nah, he'll be fine. I'm sure he knows better than to make a complete full of himself in front of the girl he likes," he said with a shrug.

"Yeah," Neji said in agreement. "As much as it sickens me to say it, Naruto did have feelings for Karin, and we all know how serious and how much effort he put into that failure."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Neji's got a point; Karin was a witch but Naruto did do right in that relationship." she stated with a nod, sitting down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, smacking away Kiba's hand as he reached over for some. He pouted but kept quiet, not wanting to deal with Neji's wrath for messing with his girlfriend.

Sasuke looked at his phone to see what time it was, then sighed. "Gaara's not back yet. You think we should call to check up on him?" he asked, not really worried about the young red head, but not really wanting to have to deal with an over worrisome mother if she winds up calling and they not knowing where he was.

Shikamaru shook his head and held up his own phone. "No need, he just sent me a text saying that he ran into Itachi and the others. He said that they were heading our way now."

Sasuke nodded and sent a text of his own to Sakura. Telling her to hurry up before he looses his mind. The two couples sitting on the other side of the room were really starting to get comfortable. Too comfortable for his liking. And Naruto and Hinata had yet to come out, Kiba had made it his business to spy on them then report back if anything good happens.

Seeing as his face was still glued to the window in the corner, nothing happened yet. Unless he fell asleep from boredom. Sasuke rolled his eyes at that thought, thinking it was so typical of the dog lover. Sasuke raised a brow incredulously when he finally noticed that Akamaru; Kiba's personal little puppy was nowhere to be seen. The raven haired teen rubbed his temples. The last thing they needed was a lost dog on their hands.

"Kiba where's, Akamaru?" he asked sternly.

The brunette turned around and looked at his brother in confusion. Suddenly surprise etched Kiba's face as he quickly shot up, surprising everyone in the room. "Ah, crap!" he shouted as he ran towards the door and opened it, making Itachi and Sakura move to the side immediately as he shoved passed them.

"Watch where you're going, Kiba!" Itachi exclaimed in annoyance as the boy ran down the hall.

Gaara blinked and looked over at a standing Sasuke. "Where's he going?" he asked in confusion.

The dark haired male shrugged. "Hn, who knows? All I asked was if he knew where Akamaru was; he ran away after that." he stated.

The red head sighed and turned back around and walked out the door. "I can't believe that idiot's the oldest..." was the mumble as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Naruto swallowed thickly as he glanced at Hinata from the side of his line of vision. His breath hitched slightly as he saw her pale skin glow in the moonlight; her hair blowing softly in the wind. He nearly groaned from how erratic his heart was beating. He silently cursed his hormones as his palms suddenly became sweaty. This was not how he wanted things to go. At this point they were probably going to freeze to death before he even got the chance to open his mouth.

"Uh..." he muttered as he turned his head to face Hinata. She just looked back at him and smiled a sweet smile that almost, _almost, _made him crumble in a heap of blue and orange goo. He chuckled hoarsely and turned back to the front and looked out and watched as the city lights seemed to make everything seem so surreal.

Hinata frowned slightly as Naruto looked away, her fingers twitched as she fumbled nervously with her hair that kept blowing in her face. To say that she was surprised by Naruto wanting to come outside with her would be the understatement of the year. She wished he would tell her what was on his mind. Usually he was so talkative and expressive. Now it just seemed as if someone taped his mouth shut.

"Um," Hinata said shyly. "Is there something you wanted to tell me, Naruto?" she asked curiously, trying hard not to blush as he turned back to face her.

He chuckled and ruffled his blonde head. "Uh, yeah, actually... I did." he said with a nod, his expression suddenly turning serious and his eyes so intense that it made Hinata's insides flutter in anticipation.

Hinata cocked her head to the side in confusion as he started to mutter things incoherently, his words fumbling over each other. She smile and shook her head. "Naruto I can barely understand what you're saying...?" she said with a questionable expression.

The blonde rubbed his face, his nerves were starting to get the better of him. "Err... well um, you see I wanted ask if you- I mean if you, you know, don't mind- I-I... Ugh!" he finally shouted after getting fed up with all of his stuttering.

Looking at her with a determined expression, he gripped her cheeks and pulled her face towards his, and with a deep breath he kissed her gently on the lips. He watched as the Hyuuga Heiress' eyes widened, but after a second she slowly closed them and shyly placed her hands on his waist.

Naruto smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms warmly around Hinata's shoulder, slightly putting more pressure into the kiss and then pulling back as the need for air became greater. His heart nearly pumped out of his chest as he saw her smile at him warmly, a slight pink ghosted over her cheeks as she looked down and covered her face in embarrassment.

He panicked when he saw a few tears trail down her cheeks, and immediately his heart sank, thinking he had interpreted things wrong. He quickly began to apologize at his mistake. "Ah! Hinata-chan, I'm sorry. I didn't- I thought- Ah, I'm going to kill those guys!" he growled mournfully.

At hearing Naruto's apology, Hinata shook her head and placed her hands on his forearms to get him to calm down. "N-n-no, t-that's not it... I'm sorry, I-" she looked away nervously. "I'm just so happy." she smiled, not able to say anything else as more tears trailed down her cheeks.

Naruto looked down at the slightly smaller girl, his mood immediately changed as she slowly but surely placed her hands back on his waist. Her head resting on his chest as he also wrapped his arms around her. "Then why are you crying?" he asked softly, reaching to her face to wipe another onslaught of tears.

Hinata smiled and shook her head. "They're happy tears," she said with a bright smile. "I can't tell you how long I've liked you, how long I've wished for you to reciprocate my feelings. I thought you'd never get over Karin, and I didn't want to try and start something with you 'til you were completely over her... I know how much you liked Karin, even if you don't now. I know how much she must have hurt you..." she trailed off, taking a deep breath, mentally patting herself on the back for being able to speak that much without stuttering.

Naruto brightened immensely at her words. "Great! So uh," he hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "W-Would you go out with me?" he asked shyly.

* * *

**A/N; And there you go! Whooh, wow that took a long time. I thought I'd never get this chapter out! Sorry for the late update. I know I don't have a right to make excuses, but I've been really, really, _really_, busy. Like with everything. First I was sick, like really sick. We thought something was wrong and... I'm better now anyway, so. Then I have studies, I'm learning Korean at the moment :D I'm happy about that. Anyway. Sorry for the cliffy! I hope you like. Please review. **

**I hope this makes up for the lost time. I won't make any promises about keeping updates regularly cause we all know how that will turn out :/**

**Thank you! **

**blonde insomniac**


	15. Chapter15 Confessions, Winter, and Boys

**A/N; Hello everyone, I'm back! Whew it's been a long time, heh, sorry about that by the way. Well, not to keep you waiting. I just wanted to say I was sorry about the last chapter. Turns out my computer likes eating sentences. Lol :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Side Note: I've been learning Korean recently, so I apologize if there is some things you don't recognize... I'm not sure if I put anything in there or not but I'm just warning you ahead of time. **

_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**_

_**.**_

Sakura walked over to Sasuke as they made their way into the Hotel room. Her eyes were instantly directed towards the veranda. Through the window she could see Hinata and Naruto standing outside, in the cold, not even talking to each other. The rosette blinked a few times then turned to her boyfriend. Who appeared to be more interested in what Itachi and Shikamaru were talking about.

With a tilt of her head she sat down beside her boyfriend on the little couch and looked at him questioningly, not saying anything. Oh no, she was going to wait and see if he even bothered to notice.

Sasuke listened intently to what his brothers were talking about. Itachi was asking Shikamaru about the technical issues they were having with the sound, and with Shikamaru being the genius that he was knew exactly what was wrong. Sasuke, feeling the intense glare his girlfriend was giving the back of his head, turned slightly to see Sakura staring at him innocently. As if she hadn't been throwing eye darts at his back.. "So..." he trailed off. "You want something?" he asked curiously, leaning back to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

Sakura leaned back into his arm and rested her head on his chest. "What is Hinata doing outside, alone, with Naruto? And why does Ino and Tenten look like crazed maniacs?" she asked curiously, watching as her friends shuffled against one of the closest windows to the veranda.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm only obligated to answer one of those two questions," he said holding up two fingers. "And since Ino and Tenten are just being... Well," he paused to glance over at the two standing near the window on the other side of the room, practically glued to the glass pane. "Tenten and Ino." he said shaking his head.

"So, to answer your question about Naruto and Hinata; the 'Dobe' should be confessing to her right about now." he stated looking back over towards his blonde brother and the violet haired heiress outside.

"Eh?" Sakura exclaimed, sitting up and staring at Sasuke as if he'd grown an extra head. "Really?" she asked, still not able to completely comprehend her boyfriend's words. "Who'd a thunk it?" she muttered, slumping back into Sasuke's embrace. "How long have they been out there?" she asked curiously.

"About thirty minutes," Sasuke said with a shrug.

Sakura blinked up at Sasuke. "In this weather? They could freeze to death!" she exclaimed, standing as she too, walked over towards the window where Ino and Tenten were quietly whispering amongst themselves. From what the weather report said, this year was one of the coldest winters London has ever experienced.

"Hey," Sakura whispered, leaning in closer to Ino and Tenten. "Anything happen yet?" she asked.

The blonde shook her head. "Well, Naruto finally started talking to her. By the look on Hinata's face I'd say they're finally getting somewhere! 'Bout time too," she hissed low under her breath. She was so close to going out there and demanding Naruto make a move before she did it for him.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"W-Would you go out with me?" Naruto asked as he stared down nervously at his feet, his eyes trying hard to meet hers.

Hinata's face was a flushed pink, her hands wringing together and her heart pumping a mile a minute. What was she going to say? Well, of course she was going to say yes, but man she was so nervous. "I- I," she stuttered not able to form a comprehensible sentence. "I... Y-yes." she finally managed to say, taking a deep breath.

With a big grin, Naruto shouted and pumped his fist into the air and hopped up and down. "She said yes!" he exclaimed loudly, wrapping his arms tightly around Hinata's neck, pulling her as close as he could get. He nuzzled into her neck when he felt her arms wrap around his waist. "Thank you," he whispered swinging side to side with his new girlfriend in his arms. A big goofy grin plastered on his face.

Hinata smiled and nodded her head. After what seemed like forever they finally pulled away when the wind started to pick up more. Naruto and Hinata both shivered and the blonde rubbed his nose as it started to get runny. "We should probably head back inside before we freeze out here." he said as he took her hand and lead her away from the balcony and over towards the two glass doors that lead back into the hotel room.

Hinata nodded, she blinked in surprise when something to her right caught her eye. With a small yelp she jumped when she saw Tenten, Ino and Sakura staring at her with big goofy smiles. She blushed bright red and shook her head telling Naruto nothing was wrong when he asked what the matter was.

Before Naruto even had a chance to step foot back into the comforting heat of their hotel room, Ino and the other two girls started bombarding Hinata with questions, pushing him out of the way in the process. He scowled when the three dragged his new girlfriend over to a far corner of the den. Of course, he finally got the girl of his dreams and he couldn't even spend time with her without their friends begging for all the juicy details.

They probably wanted to know what exactly he said so they could have a good reason to reprimand him for being an idiot and not properly asking precious Hinata to be his girlfriend. He scowled and rolled his eyes as he slumped back on the couch next to Sasuke. He thought what he did out there was pretty romantic. Though he'd never forgive himself if his poor Hina-chan managed to get a cold while standing out there for so long.

Naruto blanched and smacked his head, cursing himself mentally. Looking up from his self infliction; the blonde glanced over at his younger brother curiously, noting the way Sasuke was completely ignoring his presence. Naruto tapped his fingers against the armrest of the couch; loudly, and enjoyed the tick in Sasuke's eye when his tapping became insistent and more prominent. Sasuke turned and glared at his brother.

"Do you want something?" he asked, the tick in his eye not leaving due to his annoyance.

"Nothing in particular... Really," Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly picking at a loose thread on the armrest.

"Dobe," Sasuke growled in annoyance.

"Respect your elders, Teme." Naruto returned.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted turning his head away from his annoying "elder" brother. Naruto just grinned and leaned closer to the raven haired teen. "Ne, ne. Don't you want to know what happened between Hina- chan and I?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grunted again, promptly ignoring the blonde all together. The blonde scowled. "Don't be a teme, Teme. You should be proud. Now we can go on a double date." he grinned, pulling on his brother's arm.

What are ya, a girl?" Sasuke snapped, wrenching his arm away from his blonde brother's grasp. "And don't touch me!" he growled.

"Touchy~" Naruto sang innocently with a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"I will hurt you," Sasuke threatened, his ever famous death glare not bothering his brother one bit.

"Like that's seriously going to bother me after all these years of being on the receiving end; `Sasuke's-death-glare' does not get to me anymore." The blonde stated confidently.

Sasuke didn't look impressed; his eyes narrowed warningly. Naruto chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Right," the blonde said with a cheeky smile. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"Do you now?" Shikamaru asked as he leaned against the arm of the couch. "If I didn't know any better I'd say Sasuke was just about to rip you in a new one."

"Good thing you don't know any better aye?" Naruto muttered narrowly; leaning closer to whisper into Shikamaru's ear, "Don't encourage him!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Shikamaru snorted. "Wouldn't _dream _of it," he drawled out lazily.

Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms. "Jerks, the lot of you!" he growled.

"Guys, don't get him in a mood, you don't have to room with him!" Kiba snapped as he walked in with a happy Akamaru in his arms and a bored looking Gaara following behind.

"Where have you two been?" Itachi asked as the two walked further into the room, the girls not bothering to be interrupted while in their intense conversation.

Gaara scowled at the back of Kiba's head as the brunette sat on the floor and started playing with the small dog, "Idiot here left Akamaru at the motel we were staying at-"

"Accidentally!" Kiba snapped as he turned to glare at his red headed twin.

"Whatever," Gaara grunted. "Anyway, while we were there looking for the little mutt, we ran into some guys who... weren't too friendly." he explained awkwardly.

"What happened?" Neji asked. "I told you to call if something was wrong!" he said before Gaara had time to explain.

"Hey! We handled it, it's not like we got into a fight or anything. Kiba would probably be beaten black and blue if so." the red head stated.

"Why do you automatically assume I'd be the one getting hurt?" Kiba asked skeptically, looking clearly affronted.

The brothers didn't bother to respond. "Anyway," Gaara continued with a shrug. "All's good, we got the dog back, Kiba's still alive... I'm completely sane-"

"That's never been clarified professionally," Kiba interjected.

"Scratch that second part; Kiba's still alive... for the moment." Gaara said through clenched teeth, his fierce glare meeting Kiba's smug ones full on.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The next morning was quite peaceful. Everyone was sleeping snug in their beds; all except one. Itachi tossed and turned in his supposedly comfortable bed, uncomfortably. Exasperated sighs passed his lips every time he turned over to try and make the restlessness he was feeling ease away. Neji, being the lite sleeper that he was, could easily hear his elder brother fumbling about in his bed.

The brunette's eyes scrunched together in annoyance when he, once again, heard Itachi shuffle a few times and then immediately let out a harsh sigh. With a groan, Neji pulled the covers off his face and sat up, turning towards his wide eyed brother. "Do you mind?" Neji asked, glaring tiredly at his brother from across the room. "Do you know how long it's been since I've slept normally? It's five o'clock in the morning!" he hissed, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

Itachi just stared at his brother, not moving nor replying to his brother's outburst.

Neji's eye ticked once more at the silence. "What? You're giving me the silent treatment now, what are you? Three?" he asked sarcastically.

The elder of the two glared at the younger menacingly and pointed at his throat and rubbed it as if he was trying to tell him something.

Neji arched a brow confusedly. "You woke me up to play charades?" he asked incredulously. That in which earned the brunette another heated glare and a face full of a down pillow. "What then?" he asked in exasperation.

Itachi opened his mouth and once again pointed to his throat, wheezes coming out slightly as he tried to talk. Pearl colored eyes opened wide as his mouth dropped open in realization.

"Oh, crap..." he muttered.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"Well," said Sakura tiredly as she gazed at Itachi with a mix of disbelief and worry. "What are we going to do now?" she asked, turning her attention away from Itachi and towards Kisame and Deidara. Who were sitting on one of the sofas half dead in tiredness, coffee mugs held in their hands unstably.

Deidara sighed and rested his head on his palm as he clucked his tongue a few times. "Well, until the Doctor gets here, we won't know for sure whether this little-" he paused to glance at a scowling Itachi. "Predicament will clear away in a few days or if this is going to last a while." he said with a yawn, his finger running back and forth against the rim of his half empty coffee cup.

Neji rubbed his temples and shook his head with a sigh. "This is not good; this is what you get for singing so much!" he scolded. "Didn't you think to let your vocal cords rest even a little?" he asked his elder brother incredulously.

Itachi turned his glare at Neji. He said something crude and then coughed from the struggle of just saying that one insult.

Sasuke glanced between Itachi and the others and said, "Until the Doctor does get here, lets try to keep cool. I'm sure what Itachi has isn't going to last long, maybe a couple of days. But that's okay, the contest isn't until Friday anyway so we don't have to worry about anything." he said.

"I'm sorry to say this, but Itachi isn't going to be able to sing Friday." the Doctor stated. Everyone turned their glare towards a guilty looking Sasuke. "He has a serious case of Bronchitis. And even if it were to get better by the end of the week, I 'doubt he'd be able to sing anything with the after affects of his soar throat." the Doctor continued as he backed away from a shocked Itachi.

Everyone looked at the Doctor with wide eyes; Deidara looking frantic smacked his forehead and started cursing under his breath.

"Are you serious?" Kisame asked the Doctor. "There's nothing you can give him to help him get better, this concert means everything to us. Come on, there has to be something you can do for us." he pleaded, it sounding weird coming from the normally vicious looking man.

The man just shook his head. "I'm sorry, there's not much I can do. And even if I had something to give him, his throat would still need to heal on it's own." the older man said with a shake of his head, looking Kisame up and down curiously. "Though," he added leaning closer towards the blue man. "You must have some rare disease... I've never seen a blue looking man before." he said under his breath.

Kisame growled and had to be held back by Deidara and Sasuke as he lunged for the oblivious Doctor.

Sakura shook her head and started to pace the room back and forth, blocking out the voices of the Akatsuki and the others, she really couldn't deal with this. All their hard work and practice going to waste because of Itachi getting Bronchitis... This was just ridiculous. Turning back she took a glance at Deidara who had started to smack his face again, frowning she shook her head once again. The whole point in coming here was for the concert.

Now what were they going to do? It wasn't like they could find a replacement to sing in Itachi's place or anything.

Suddenly the pinkette's eyes sparkled in realization. She walked over to Kisame and the Doctor, interrupting the male before he started yelling at the poor man. "That's enough, Kisame. The nice man has done everything he can for Itachi," she said as she turned back to the older man and walked him to the door, telling him to bill the Hotel and waved as the nice Doctor walked out with a nod.

She turned, hands on her hips and eyes ablaze, "Look's like we've got a problem on our hands. Before I make a suggestion does anyone want to put in their two cents?" she asks, eyes glancing at them, waiting for one of them to say something.

Deidara shuffled a bit, then cleared his throat. "Well, unless we find another singer we might as well start packing." he states miserably as he crosses his arms with a small pout.

"My thoughts exactly," the Rosette says as she starts to pace the room again. "If we want to continue going through with the concert we need to either find a new singer or one of you can replace Itachi." she says, her thumb pointing at the gloomy looking Hatake.

Sasori sighed and ran a hand through his already mussed hair. "Replacing Itachi his up to him, he's the leader he can decide what we should do... Even if he can't talk at the moment." the red head muttered, taking a quick glance towards the sick male.

Itachi shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat roughly. "just 'cause I ca't sin'-" he paused to cough from the strain in his throat. "-an'more doesn't mean we shou' jus' roll ove' and go 'ome." was all he said as he coughed behind a fist, trying to clear his throat.

The band members exchanged glances briefly, thinking over what their leader said. Eventually they nodded, but still not quite comfortable with bringing someone new in to take the place of one of their members. "Well," Tobi said, calmer than his usually boisterous demenor permitted. "Seems like we got a lot of work cut out for us... Saying this, none of us can reach the notes that Itachi sings so that automatically excludes us..." he trailed off, going in to his own thoughts.

Hidan scowled and scrunched his brows. "Great, seems like we're going to have to re-write everything... Again." he moaned, not wanting to go through that whole process another time, it took forever just to write the one piece he had written. He was not good with composing dang-it!

"Not necessarily," Sakura said as she stood in front of the group. She turned to look at Itachi and asked, "Do you know if one of your brothers knows how to sing a decent tune?" she asked.

The Akatsuki members gaped and looked at the Rosette as if she had grown a second head. She waved them off and shrugged. "What? They are the only ones I can think of that we don't have to take the time teaching them the lyrics!" she snapped, her patience waning.

Itachi coughed a little and looked down thinking hard. As if on cue Neji and Sasuke exchanged looks when Itachi's face brightened, already knowing what he was thinking. "There is one..." the elder Hatake trailed off.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"No." was the brisk reply as Gaara looked away from the group standing in front of him and back towards the book he was previously enjoying.

"Come on, Gaara. From what I hear, you are a pretty good singer." Sakura tried to convince him, hands placed together in a pleading form.

"Yeah, in the shower." Kiba scoffed, rolling his eyes when Gaara gave him a glare that could make even the toughest man cry.

Sasuke smacked his little brother across the head. "No one asked for your opinion, runt." he said, crossing his arms as Kiba pouted at him.

"Why am I the one always getting picked on," Kiba mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his now sore head.

"Cause you're the one that talks too much for his own good, even Naruto knows when to shut up. And that's saying something." Neji added, he brown hair falling into his face a little as he turned back to face the now practically begging Sakura and the ever more stubborn Gaara.

"Please Gaara, you're our only chance. Itachi said you are an amazing singer! You have to, think of the children." she said, hoping to lighten the red head's mood if only a little. Her smile faltered slightly when Gaara "tsked" and shuffled in his seat uncomfortably. "What do you have to be scared of?" she asked.

That made the red head scowl and stand up with a force he didn't know he acquired. "Who said anything about being scared? I'm not, I just don't want to do it okay. Find someone else!" he snapped, grabbing his fallen book and walking out of the hotel room with a slam of the door.

Sakura sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, Sasuke coming up from behind and resting his hands against her shoulders. "Maybe one of us should go talk to him..." he trailed off, looking at his brothers. The ones who had just walked into the room upon hearing the commotion all looked around confused.

Kiba sighed and stood from his spot of the floor. "I guess that automatically means me, right?" he asked as he stretched and made his way to the exit.

Sakura raised a brow in astonishment. _`Did Kiba just volunteer... To go talk to, Gaara? Hell must have frozen over or something cause that does not happen often.'_ she said mentally.

_**`Seriously, you'd think dog breath would be the last person to want to go and talk to Gaara... Strange.' **_Inner Sakura said as she crossed her outlined arms against her chest.

_`Maybe they are closer than they let on... I mean, they are twins, so there has to be something there. Despite how different the two may be. Right?'_

_**`Your guess is as good as mine.'**_

Before Sakura had time to even think more on the matter, she heard the door close and there was no sign of Kiba anywhere. One pink eyebrow crinkled a bit and Sakura scrunched her nose in obvious confusion. "Am I missing something?" she asked no one in particular.

Sasuke snorted and wrapped one arm around her shoulders as his other hand locked around his across her chest. "It's a twin thing, none of us has as of yet been able to connect the dots when it came to those two and their weird way of being brothers."

"Really, so what? Do they really like each other?" she asked, wonderment laced in her voice.

Shikamaru laughed heartily. "No, they hate each other, but you never know when it comes to family..." he trailed off, leaving it at that.

_**`I guess that's as good an answer as any.' **_Inner Sakura's voice spoke inside her head softly. Sakura agreed inwardly as she leaned her back against Sasuke comfortably.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"So this is where you go during the day? ...God you have no life." was the words Gaara heard as he looked up from his reading under a big tree in the middle of a deserted park. It was where he liked to spend his time, reading and enjoying the peace and quiet. The winter air didn't bother him much and it wasn't snowing so he found it quite relaxing. That is, until Kiba showed up.

The red head closed his book softly and frowned at his elder twin brother. "I don't recall ever asking for your opinion in my ways of spending my free time." he countered.

"Touchy." Kiba replied as he sat down on the grass across from his red headed brother.

Silence had fallen between the two instantly, neither saying a word as time passed and the awkwardness continued to loom over their heads like a dark cloud of doom and gloom. And Kiba's nerves were starting to go haywire from all the quite. Being a person with ADD and all wasn't easy, he always had to be doing something and just sitting there in the quiet was not helping.

"I can tell you're getting anxious," Gaara said as he flipped his book back open to the spot where he left off not waiting for his brother's response.

"I just don't see how you can do something like this all day... Doesn't it get too quiet for you? Ever?" Kiba asked, his hands reaching for blades of grass. He pulled the strands to occupy his hands so that at least some of his anxiety would ease. "Just sitting here makes me stressed out."

Gaara let out a breath. Not taking his eyes off the words he was reading he replied. "How many times are you going to make me go through this conversation with you? My answer is always going to be the same, has been for the passed ten years now." he stated. "I like the quiet. Unlike you, obviously, it relaxes me."

Kiba shrugged, flicking at a bug as it got close enough. He shivered slightly, he really hated insects. "I don't know, it seems to be the only thing we're good at talking about... Haven't you noticed," he smiled lifting his eyes up to look at his slightly disinterested brother. "This is the only thing we can do without getting into an argument!" he said, rather proud of himself for thinking of that on his own.

"That's because you're nosy enough to get the answers first and be an idiot later." Gaara quipped turning to the next page of his book.

"Now that's the kind of attitude that makes me pissed off." Kiba grouched, jutting out his lip dejectedly as he pulled more blades of the grass, almost making it so the area he was abusing was starting to become bare.

"You keep doing that and there's not going to be anymore grass for you to pull," Gaara sighed as he finally closed his book and focused all his attention onto his brother. "Do you want get something?"

Kiba perked up at the suggestion. "Ice-cream?" he asked in excitement.

Gaara looked away, trying not to picture his elder brother as a puppy wagging his tail and dangling his tongue in excitement at the site of a new toy. "Whatever." said Gaara as he stood and walked the distance to where there was a small ice-cream stand in the middle of the park. "You do realize how cold it is don't you? Are you sure you want ice-cream? Is there even people selling ice-cream?" he asked in confusion, his forehead crinkling slightly.

…...**.**

Ten minutes later Gaara watched in mild disgust as Kiba practically scarfed down his double scooped ice-cream cone. "Can you be even more of a pig? Wipe your face off." he grunted as he thrust a napkin into his twin's hand.

Kiba rolled his eyes and wiped his faced off. "Do you have to be such a prude? Yeesh, lighten up a little, you act as if one small thing is going to make you explode. Not everyone can be as perfect and clean as you are." he grumbled.

"See this is where the word "fraternal" comes in. We may be twins, but we look and act nothing alike." Gaara muttered as he flicked his brother's forehead.

"Hey now, we'd look alike if you hadn't of dyed your hair red when we were younger! Also that thing with you shaving your eyebrows... That's so gay~" Kiba said in defense.

Gaara sighed and shrugged, ignoring that comment about shaving off his eyebrows. He wrapped his arms around his legs as he rocked back in forth in the grass. After a long pause, Kiba finally finished his ice-cream. Gaara not really wanting to get back into his book just so Kiba can find one more reason to interrupt him in the middle of what could come to a good part, spoke.

"If you're here to try and convince me to be in the concert than you might as well go back and tell them I said no; again." the red head stated as he looked away from his brother.

Kiba snorted and leaned back against his arms, his legs stretching out comfortably. "I don't see what your problem is. If I were you I'd be milking it for all it was worth. This is like a big opportunity for you bro. You can just throw it away cause your shy." he said with a chuckle.

"Who said anything about being shy?"

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Do you think they're doing okay? It's been nearly an hour already." Sakura said as she looked over, for what seemed like the hundredth time to Sasuke, towards the clock.

The raven haired teen inhaled and exhaled slowly, his arm wrapping around his girlfriend's back. "I don't know why you're acting like a mother hen. They are old enough to take care of themselves, you know." he told her.

Sakura scoffed and shrugged his arm off. "Says you. Until you are old enough to drive or at least old enough to take responsibility for your own actions in whatever you do; then you are not old enough to do whatever you want."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant," he kissed her cheek. "Who knows, they could be having fun. You never know." he said with a shrug.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"This is so~ not fun." Kiba grumbled as he crossed his arms across his chest and pouted petulantly as Gaara sat in front of a lake and started reading.

"No one asked you to tag along." the red head remarked as he relaxed completely in the grass.

"You know why I'm here, Gaara. I think you should take Itachi's place," Kiba added. "It'd be good for you.

"Says you..." Gaara trailed off.

"Why not? Come on, think of all the hot chicks that'd be all over you. Heck, if I could sing I'd take the gig. But I can't, so yeah. What are you scared of?" he asked.

" Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm not scared of anything!" the red head snapped irately.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You could have fooled me." after not receiving a response he continued. "Why don't you just try it out? ...Try practicing a little first, get to feeling it. You don't have to decide now. Just try." he urged.

Gaara sighed and looked down at the grass. Through clenched teeth he said. "Fine, I'll try. But if I don't like it then that's just tough." he hissed.

The brunette smiled triumphantly as he flopped himself on the ground and started to throw pebbles into the water. "So what ya readin'?" he asked after a moments pause.

Gaara rolled his eyes, he knew his brother wouldn't be able to last a second without saying something. "A book." was his sarcastic reply.

"Does everything out of that mouth of yours have to be sarcastic? I am this close," he said holding his thumb and pointer finger up dramatically and squinting them together barely a smidgen apart. "To throwing that book of yours into the water! And it'd be you next if you don't start showin' some respect!" he snapped, clearly at his wits end.

Gaara snorted, not impressed in the least, it was hard to respect someone with so little braincells. It was like Naruto asking if he was smart enough to get into college, more like pass his junior year of high school. "Are you done? Stop being so childish." the red head said, patting the brunette on the shoulder in mock comfort.

"Childish?" Kiba all but nearly squeaked. "I'm childish?" he asked to no one, looking off into the distance in a daze. Gaara watching in mild amusement. Seeing his brother struggle was very entertaining.

With a shake of his head, Kiba stood and stretched, making his twin look up in confusion. Without even saying anything, Kiba made his way towards the lake, taking off his shoes and socks along the way.

The lake wasn't all that big, but it seemed steep as the ground slanted like a hill towards the water. It was dark and being as it was November; Kiba imagined that the water was an icy below zero temperature.

Gaara sat up on his hands, book laying unceremoniously on the ground next to his leg due to how fast he had sat up. "What are you doing?" he asked as his brother continued to make his way towards the water, the brunette pulling his pants legs up along the way. "You idiot," Gaara hissed as he sat up straighter, understanding flashing through his eyes. "What do you think you're doing? You do know it's the middle of November, don't you?" he snapped, his eye twitching. "You can't even swim you moron!"

"Meh," Kiba shrugged. "It's not like I'll die; I just want to know how cold it is."

Gaara's non-existent eyebrows rose up to the line where his hair met his forehead. With a shake of his head, he glared at his elder twin brother. "Why would someone want to know something like that?" he exclaimed, his frown getting deeper as Kiba got closer and closer to the water. "Are you daft?" he shouted.

"Yeah, yeah." Kiba waved him off, lifting one of his feet and dipping his big toe into the water slowly, pulling back sharply at the icy touch. "Aish, that's freezing~!" he whined taking a step back.

"If you fall over the edge I'm not going in to save your scrawny behind!" Gaara shouted, his eyes narrowing when his brother blatantly ignored him. Gaara's green eyes narrowed slightly as Kiba continued sticking his foot into the water, squirming in discomfort and hidden nervousness, Gaara stood and walked closer. "Are you done?" he asked.

Kiba turned back around with a goofy smile. "You worry too much! It's not like I'm going to fa- Woah!"

"Kiba!"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Covering a big Yawn, Shikamaru looked around the room a bit. Neji and Sasuke were in the middle of a stare down. Itachi and the members of the Akatsuki were in a grueling battle of poker; Deidara slamming his hand on the table and shouting curses because of Itachi's win. Sakura and the girls were chatting animatedly with each other in one corner of the room. Ino being as expressive and loud as ever.

Then there was Naruto, poor Naruto, sleeping upside down on one of the chairs. Shikamaru grimaced when he saw drool trail down out of his brother's wide open mouth. The brunette shook his head, wondering how someone like Hinata could be attracted to someone like that.

He hummed deep in his throat when he found something wrong with the picture he was seeing. He counted softly under his breath, his finger moving over one brother after the next, going from the oldest, down to the youngest... Which had stopped at Sasuke... Crinkling a brow and scrunching his nose Shikamaru called out Neji's name and then proceeded to ask where their twin brothers were.

The second eldest Hatake paused in his deep conversation with Sasuke to ponder over his brother's words. Now that he thought about it, it had been quite some time since they've heard anything from their little brothers. "They haven't called yet?" he asked in confusion, knowing that one of them would always call when they were going to be gone for a while. It was like an unspoken rule. They were a well close group of brothers and even if they didn't agree on most things, and fought half the time. They still had enough care in them to worry, especially when they were in a different Country altogether.

"They should have called by now, at least to tell us they were going to be a while. I would have expected for Kiba to call to tell us he found Gaara or something." Sakura's voice chirped in, her head turning to check the time on the clock. It was now nearing eight in the evening.

"I'm sure they'll call soo-" Neji stopped mid-sentence due to his phone vibrating in his pocket. Brows furrowing in confusion at the unknown number. Neji pressed the answer button and raised the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he asked in confusion. "Yes... This is he. May I ask why you're calling?" he paused again, obviously the other person on the line was talking. Without much warning the brunette stood immediately, his eyes looking panicked. "What?"

And in a blink of an eye he slammed his phone and ran to the door, managing to get out words that stopped the Hatake brothers dead in their tracks.

"_Gaara and Kiba are in the Hospital."_

**XxXxXxXxX**

Gaara hated hospitals. More like loathed them; the place reeked of death and depression. The walls were an annoyingly sterile white, and it was too loud; machines beeped, carts and food trays squeaked and creaked and you could hear people coughing from the rooms next to you. To say the least, the hospital was extremely uncomfortable. He scowled mournfully at the old nurse that walked in and asked if there was anything he needed. He was going to tell her that if she didn't tell him about his brother, there was going to be some serious problems.

"I'm sorry Gaara. But there's no news on Kiba's condition. Your brothers are on there way, so till they get here why don't you try and relax and once I hear news on Kiba I'll let you know." she said kindly, propping his pillows and fixing his blankets. He continued to scowl, not liking the way the older lady was making him feel like a child. Why couldn't he have gotten some hot nurse or something?

As the old woman walked out of his lonely room, he sagged back against the pillows and closed his eyes. His body was sore all over and he kept getting this tingling sensation every once in a while. He could imagine what he looked like right about now; pale as a ghost, lips probably a deep purple and eye bags so deep you'd think tiny pillows were surgically implanted into his face. He lifted his hand to see it trembling softly. God was he freezing. I guess that's what happens when you have a mild case of hypothermia.

He grumbled under his breath. This was all Kiba's fault. The idiot just had to fall into the water and hit his head on a rock that had immediately knocked him unconscious. So much for having a thick scull, and things had only gotten worse once Gaara himself jumped right in and tried to keep his brother from drowning in water that only reached up to his waist. Now, not only do they both have mild hypothermia, but also Kiba's minor concussion and Gaara's sprained ankle. Things just seemed to be getting worse.

"Oh, lord! Gaara what happened to you?" exclaimed a voice to Gaara's right.

The red head opened his tired eyes to see his friends and his brothers piling into the room. The voice as he now identified to be Shikamaru, walked over towards him and sat on the edge of his cramped and uncomfortable hospital bed. Worry was etched into the eyes of everyone he looked at and he was wondering what the reaction would be once he told them that Kiba was probably in more worse shape than he.

"I'm fine, just a small injury to my ankle and small bit of hypothermia. The ambulance took forever to come and get us... And falling into the water in the middle of November doesn't help very much." he said thoughtfully.

"What in the world were you doing near water in the first place?" Neji asked as he stepped closer towards the bed, the anger was evident in his eyes.

Gaara, though not really wanting to blame everything on his brother, but also not wanting to be accused for something that he didn't start, said. "Kiba was messing around and said that he wanted to see how cold the water was," he added quickly before his brother could yell at him. "And I did try to stop him! It's not my fault he somehow slipped and slammed face first into ice cold water!" he shouted.

Sasuke smacked his forehead. "Man, and I thought Naruto was the stupid one."

"Hey~!" Naruto whined, his lip jutting out petulantly.

Sakura rolled her eyes then looked back towards Gaara. "Has the Doctor came and said anything about Kiba yet? How is he?" she asked worriedly. Though the two still weren't close, she was still worried about the welfare of her boyfriend's little brother.

Gaara shook his head. "Nope, all they told me was that he had mild hypothermia and a concussion. They said that we will have to stay in the hospital for at least another night to be kept an eye on since we were close to freezing to death." he stated in a disinterested tone.

Naruto blinked, and then he leaned sideways to whisper something to Sasuke. "How can he sound so uncaring?"

To which Sasuke whispered back. "Probably his way of coping or something..." he paused. "It's Gaara, is there any need for more explanation than that?"

Naruto opened his mouth to retort but closed it shortly. "I guess not." he shrugged.

**XxXxXxXxX**

**A/N; Well, there's the last of that chapter. Sorry it took me so long. I can't believe how far back I've gotten, and you've guys have been so nice and patient. I'm such a bad Internet Author. But I do have a good reason. I have been busy, and I've gotten real sick a few times. A few days ago I just got out of the hospital after being there for a week and a half. So as you can see it's been hectic. I can't make any promises about keeping weekly updates. But I'll try my best. Please stick with me and don't give up. I will finish everything I've started! I promise. :D**

**Sorry for any mistakes that I have missed. **

**Review Please! **

**Blonde Insomniac**


	16. Chapter16 White Walls, Dates and Boys

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for your patience! I'm finally starting to move forward on this story again. I worked so hard on this chapter, I hope I managed to do everything right this time. I know I'm not doing the chapters the way I had started out doing them, and that really sucks on my part cause I hate not continuing something I've started... Which is probably why instead of completely abandoning everything I've written I've just put em away safely for re-construction. Anyway, yeah. Okay, enough of my drabbles. **

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Naruto or any of the Characters. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own 30 Seconds to Mars' song "Attack"**

**Band Formation:**

**Gaara: Lead singer/ Guitarist**

_Deidara: Guitarist/ Vocal_

_**Gaara and Deidara**_

Kisame:Bassist

Hidan: Guitarist

Tobi: Piano

Sasori: Drummer

* * *

_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**_

_**.**_

Waking up for Kiba had to be the most agonizing thing he has ever done in his life. His body was sore, and his head felt like it was being smashed with a hammer. And then to top it off, he felt as if his whole body had been stuffed into a freezer. He licked his lips and noticed that they were chapped and it stung when he wet them. Looking around in confusion, he started to wonder where he was and how he got there in the first place. Then it clicked and he began to remember what happened; He had been messing around with Gaara, trying to get a reaction out of his normally stoic brother. Hoping to at least screw with him a little, he had been an idiot going over towards the water –Who seriously tries to see how cold water is in November?- That had ultimately been his down fall. He then remembered slipping on wet ground and then falling face first into the water. After that was a mystery, all he remembers from that point on, is excruciating pain coming from his head.

Slowly sitting up, he started to examine the room curiously. There wasn't really much to look at. The walls were bare and there was hardly anything remotely accommodating. Everything was white, there wasn't a TV. The shades to the windows were closed so it was extremely dark and depressing. Kinda reminded him of what Gaara's side of the room looked like... Like there was a black cloud hovering over the entire room... It was getting kinda creepy, in his opinion, now that he thought about it.

Speaking of creepy... Where was his loveable twin anyway? He snorted at that thought. Loveable. Gaara? He snickered at the absurdity. Then brown eyes snapped open when he realized he was actually alone. Without said red head of a twin brother. In a hospital. _Alone_. This didn't really sit well with him, he never liked the thought of being in hospitals alone. And he definitely wasn't going to change his mind now that he was living the experience. He found this thought quite unsettling and very stressful.

Immediately his grip on the sheets grew tighter as he felt a wave of uneasiness flow through him all the way down to his gut, he felt extremely nauseous and he palms were starting to perspire. Shuffling around he turned his head, looking to see if he could find any of his stuff sitting by close; if he found his phone he'd try to call one of his brother's. Though he was kinda ticked that he didn't wake up to find any of them there with him. He was in a hospital for the love of all that was holy! "Those jerks should be here! I'm in a hospital in a foreign Country!" he whined loudly, slumping against the cushions when he found no trace of his belongings.

"Oh! You're awake!" said a voice from the doorway, that Kiba just now realized had been open, a cute looking nurse coming in with a bright smile for a place that was way to depressing. Kiba frowned slightly when she quickly turned and walked out.

He found that odd, until immediately after leaving she came back shortly with his brothers trailing closely behind. If the brunette wasn't trying to look cool he would have sighed in relief and let loose his tear ducts. But that would have been embarrassing, and there was a hot nurse there asking him if there was anything he would like. With a lift of his eyebrow and a non-discreet checking of tall, feminine creamy legs. Kiba smirked mischievously, which quickly disappeared when Shikamaru covered his mouth and told the nice nurse that they had things covered.

"Well, that was rude," was the first thing Kiba said when Shikamaru released his grip on his face when the nurse made her leave.

Three pairs of eyes turned around to glare at him disapprovingly. The brunette cringed and sagged slightly, knowing he was going to be in for it. "Uh," he stuttered slightly. "I'm sorry?" he said in an unsure voice.

Itachi growled and stood straight. Crossing his arms over his chest he started to pace up and down the room. And Kiba watched tensely, knowing that he was definitely going to get one of the biggest lectures of his life. Okay, so maybe seeing how cold a lake was in the winter wasn't the most smartest thing in the world. But hey... to be honest he wasn't exactly the smartest person anyway. And he was okay with admitting that, sorta...

Finally stopping in his pacing, Itachi faced Kiba. "Are you that stupid? Do you know what your games could have done to you _and _Gaara. You're lucky he knew how to swim or you wouldn't even be here right now! You understand that don't you?" the eldest Hatake snapped hoarsely, his eyes looking frantic. Not caring if his shouting could have ruined his chances of getting better quicker. He was going to kill Kiba once he got the chance.

Kiba bent his head down, feeling slightly guilty, and also worried about what happened to Gaara. Not that he would admit that out loud or anything...

Shikamaru seeing the hidden worry in his little brother's eyes, sat at the edge of the bed and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Don't worry," he reassured. Neji and Itachi looked at him in confusion, not sure who he was talking to. "Gaara's sleeping in the room next to yours," Shikamaru continued. "He has a slight fever but the Doctors said it should go down by tomorrow."

The dog lover nodded, releasing a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "So..." he trailed off, rubbing his head only to wince a moment after. His head still hurt. "He's okay." he finished lamely. Wincing slightly as a surge of pain shot through his skull.

They nodded, Neji leaned against the wall and Itachi sat in an empty chair on Kiba's left, while Shikamaru stayed sitting on the edge of his bed. Looking as bored as ever.

Kiba sighed and fiddled with his hands. "What happened?" he asked.

Neji tilted his head in confusion. "You don't remember?"

"I remember how I fell and all that, but I don't remember what _happened..._ Did anything happen to Gaara? What's wrong with me? Why does my head hurt like a–– "

"Kiba," Neji warned, stopping his brother before he could finish his sentence. "To answer your insistent questions. After you fell into the lake, Gaara went in right after you. You had hit your head pretty hard on a rock which immediately knocked you unconscious. Pretty much right now you're suffering from a mild concussion and mild hypothermia." he stated.

Kiba's mouth dropped open in shock. All that had happened just from falling into water. Sure it was cold outside, a little more colder than London normally is. Especially in November... but almost freezing to death was kind of hard to believe... So that was why his body felt like it was filled with lead. He shivered slightly at the thought.

"The Doctor said you should try to rest. They'll be here to check on you in the morning. They're going to keep an eye on you and Gaara overnight to make sure there's no after affects from what happened." Neji said. "Will you be okay here alone? I could ask the nurse if you could share the room with Gaara. If you want, that is?" he asked pushing himself from against the wall.

Kiba paused to think about it, but shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. I'm not a little kid, I can take care of myself," he said. "Does mom and dad know?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, they know. But don't worry, we reassured mom that you were okay and that you were just having one of your Naruto moments, again." he shrugged.

"Hey! I heard that!" Naruto shouted from the entrance to the room.

All heads turned to see the blonde getting smacked in the back of the head by a scowling Sasuke. "Dobe, this is a hospital. Show some respect," he growled, walking farther into the room nodding in Kiba's direction. "See you're finally awake. Can't say the same for Gaara though," he scoffed. "Nurse came in and told him he had to take medication for the chills he was having. Not five minutes had passed and he was drooling all over his pillow. I'd feel sorry for him if it hadn't been as hilarious as it had been." he smirked.

"Sasuke, that's your little brother. Be nice." Sakura frowned as she walked into the room. Ino, Tenten and Hinata not far behind.

Kiba smiled smugly. "Awww, the whole gangs here," he wiped a fake tear off his cheek. "I'm so touched!" he sobbed dramatically, laughing at the looks they all shot him. "Oh, come on!" he whined. "Can't you take a joke?" he pouted.

* * *

Not long after Gaara and Kiba had returned from the hospital and relaxed and got themselves situated; Gaara was immediately taken to his first band practice, while Kiba had resorted in staying asleep as much as possible, his head still hurt and he got nauseous every time he moved. Sasuke had been in charge of watching Itachi due to the fact that it was the girls' last day of the field trip, and Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji wanted to spend the last day with their perspective girlfriends, alone. And Sakura had been taken along with the Akatsuki and Gaara for much need practice.

Sasuke didn't seem to mind about being stuck with a sick Itachi and Kiba anyway. The elder Hatake was way too stubborn to have his little brother take care of him, so Sasuke was really only ever needed if necessary. Of course, Kiba still had his headaches so Sasuke's attention was mostly focused on keeping his dog loving little brother comfortable. It wasn't really a problem, all Sasuke had to do really, was give him the medication the Doctor had given him and Kiba was out like a light.

With a sigh, Sasuke looked around the hotel to see if he could find himself something to do. He couldn't go where Sakura was practicing, he'd probably get yelled at for disturbing the rosette, and he didn't want to get on the already stressed out Akatsuki members' nerves. Not finding anything worth his attention, Sasuke slumped against the couch and turned on the TV. Maybe he could find something to watch in his language.

* * *

"No. No. NO! How many times to I have to tell you, it starts low and then you work your way to a higher pitch!" Deidara shouted as he stood in front of Gaara.

Gaara growled for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "I'm trying, stop yelling at me!" he snapped.

Deidara narrowed his eyes at Gaara placed his hands over his hips. "Well, you're not trying hard enough!" he said back.

"How can I even get through the first set if you keep cutting me off every five seconds?" the red head hissed irately.

"The only reason I'm cutting you off is because you're still off pitch, you keep missing the same key every time." he said with a shake of his head.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "There's no way I can hit that pitch, my voice has never hit that high a note in the fifteen years I've been alive. And it's not going to change now."

Deidara screeched and stomped his foot. "You're hopeless!" he growled. "SAKURA!" he shouted.

The Rosette rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs, laying a comforting hand on Gaara's shoulder as she passed. "Yes, you're highness?"

"Don't be a brat." he said.

"Sorry," she muttered sarcastically. "What is it?" she asked.

The blonde guitarist sighed and rubbed his temples. "Can we just start with your song while Kisame and Sasori work with Gaara on his pitch a little more. I'll teach the keys while we're at it since Kisame is going to be busy for a while." he said, throwing a not so subtle glare in Gaara's direction, receiving one immediately back right after doing so.

Sakura nodded, knowing that Deidara was probably about to have an anxiety attack from all the pressure Itachi's sickness and getting Gaara ready for the concert was putting on him. "Relax Deidara, we're going to make it through this. I promise. Gaara just needs to get used to it is all." she reassured calmly.

The guitarist released a breath and nodded his head. "Okay, yeah, you're right. Come on, let's go get everyone some coffee before we start." he suggested, walking away and grabbing his coat on the way. Sakura had no choice but to follow, leaving to the sound of Sasori explaining to Gaara the best ways to loosen his vocals.

* * *

"This concert is going to be the death of me, I'm telling you." Deidara groaned as he slumped against the table he and Sakura were sitting at as they drank their coffee. "I mean, first Pein and Konan show up, acting all, _"I'm going to make you miserable~",_" he imitated lamely, holding his arms out for no reason. "And then they took our instruments– my baby~" he whined with a sniff, thinking about his customized guitar that their ex-manager stole. "Now Itachi's sick and we got to teach you how to play guitar and work overtime with Gaara! My weak heart can't take much more of this." he dryly sobbed, taking a large gulp of his coffee.

Sakura shook her head, _**"Not to kick a dog when it's down, but he's just pathetic..." **_Inner-Sakura's voice rang through bluntly.

"_Don't be like that, he's overwhelmed with so much stuff. He's taking care of everything now that Itachi's sick." _Sakura stated, narrowing her eyes at her Inner's words.

"_**I still don't see why he has to be so dramatic about it. I mean, now he knows how Itachi feels. As the leader he probably had to go through so much more than Deidara has in just this one day. You should tell crybaby here that."**_

"_What happened to, "Not kicking a dog when it's down"?" _

"_**I don't see any dog's around... Do you?" **_

Sakura just shook her head and droned out her Inner's ramblings. She wasn't going to lecture Deidara when he was obviously not handling the outcome of things very well. "Try not to take it so hard. Things will get better, and I bet it won't take Gaara long to learn the songs. I'll be singing most of them now anyway." she reassured him.

"Doesn't make it any easier. I have a low tolerance for patience. I don't handle pressure well either!" he cried.

The Rosette tried not to roll her eyes. "I seriously think you need to take a chill pill. If pressure should be on anyone, it should be me. Or Gaara, but he's not here right now to defend himself at the moment." she shrugged.

"You know, you're all cute and whatnot on the outside, but deep down you are one evil chick." Deidara groaned as he banged his head against the coffee table.

Sakura blinked. "I didn't say anything." she said a little too innocently.

"Your mind is cursing me on the inside, I know it is." he said with a small pout.

* * *

"Shikamaru, is this seriously what you consider a date?" Ino whined as she looked around the area in disbelief. "You don't honestly expect me to walk in these shoes down there do you?" she asked skeptically.

"I told you to dress comfortably, didn't I?" he said in a bored tone.

The blonde turned her head to the side and sniffed, indignant. "For your information, I am very comfortable. What happened to the normal, romantic dates? Where the man took his love for romantic horse carriage rides, or take her boat riding through the river on the gondolas?" she asked irritably as her boyfriend continued to look as if this wasn't the last date they would have in London. Why couldn't he be the least bit romantic? "Shikamaru!" she screeched.

Said lazy genius sighed and rolled his eyes and walked back towards his angry girlfriend. "Fine," he said and crouched in front of her. "If you're so worried about ruining your shoes, hop on. Just stop screaming~." he pleaded, shaking his head to get the ringing out of his ears.

Ino looked down at her boyfriend incredulously. "This is something I'd never thought I'd get to see coming from you..." she trailed off as she eventually leaned against Shikamaru's back and held tightly as he stood back up, his arms linking together in front of his stomach as they kept her legs in place at his hips.

He sighed and dearly wished for one of those cancerous sticks right about now. "Yeah, yeah, just don't complain to me about how I never do anything for you." he said with a smirk as she let out a gasp.

"You jerk!" she huffed. "I don't even know why I bother." she clucked her tongue.

"Cause you love me." was his monotonous drone.

"How can you say something like that so dishearteningly?" she asked curiously. "It's like everything that comes out of your mouth is normal and sometimes sweet yet filled with such obvious disdain."

Shikamaru just shrugged and turned his head to kiss her cheek. "That's why I stay silent most of the time. Besides, you talk enough for the both of us."

"You're this close to getting smacked, Hatake Shikamaru!" Ino snapped.

* * *

"Tenten, where are we going? We've been to every single place imaginable, what's left?" Neji asked as he slumped against a bench as his girlfriend stopped to ask a couple for directions, for a place that was on a list she had made for all the areas they needed to go to before she had to leave.

The brunette smiled at her boyfriend and thanked the people who pointed her in the direction she needed to go. "Oh, don't be such a party pooper. You had fun, just admit it." she teased, pinching his cheek.

Neji scowled and pushed her hand away. "Come on Tenten, I know you want to see the sites but," he paused to wrap his arm around her waist and bring her closer. "Don't you think you and I should say our official goodbyes while we still have the chance?" he asked with a smug grin.

Tenten smiled in amusement and pushed at her beloved boyfriend's chest. "That sounds tempting," Neji's grin widened. "But it's not like you're going off to war or something. A few days at the most." Tenten laughed at her love's deflated gaze. She patted his cheek comfortingly. "Oh, come on, we'll have enough time to make-out later. Don't you want me to be happy?" she asked flirtatiously, usually something you'd only see from Ino. But Tenten was a very outgoing person when the chance presented itself.

Neji eyed Tenten hesitantly, then sighed and let her lead him to wherever she wanted to go. "You so owe me." he muttered.

Tenten's only reply was a giggle.

* * *

Naruto glanced out the window of the Ferris Wheel. He gulped inaudibly and backed away into the seat shakily as the ride started. Placing a hand over his over-beating heart, he took a giant gulp of air. Hinata turned to look at him with an excited smile on her face, which to he returned with a nervous one of his own. He tried so hard to make it seem like he wasn't about to die inside as the ride continued to drift higher and higher.

"Oh, Naruto-kun this is so exciting! I haven't been on one of these things since I was a little kid!" she gushed as she looked out the window in happiness. London was a lot more beautiful at night.

Naruto just chuckled and tried his best not to look anywhere but at the back of Hinata's head or his legs. "Yep. Heh, same here. So –much fun." he swallowed.

Hinata, noticing the shift in Naruto's usually overly joyful tone, turned to see that her blonde boyfriend looked like his soul had just left him. He was pale and looked a little sick. She furrowed her brow in worry and reached over to feel the blonde's forehead. "Naruto, are you okay? You don't look so good..." she trailed off in worry.

Naruto just laughed and started to wave his hand in front of his face. He could feel them getting higher and that familiar, yet unwanted, feeling in his stomach was starting to get worse by each passing second that they were on the Ferris Wheel. How was he supposed to tell his girlfriend that her boyfriend was deathly terrified of heights? It was like confessing that he wasn't the confident man he made himself out to be. "Nah, don't worry Hina-chan, I'm fine." he reassured and kissed her cheek, even though mentally he was bawling on all fours crying that he wanted to get off this scary ride!

The violet haired teen just nodded and eyed the blonde curiously before turning back to look out the window. Naruto waited until she was fully turned away before he dry sobbed into the air. His blue eyes were tearing up as his nerves were just about to sky-rocket into overdrive. What'd he do to deserve this? Here he had a clear chance of trying to get closer to his girlfriend, yet, he was too busy holding on to the seats for dear life while his beloved Hinata had the time of her life.

* * *

Deidara tapped his mic a few times and looked over at Kisame, who was on his right, and then over to Sakura who was picking the strings to her guitar on his left. Clearing his throat he looked towards the front where Gaara was sitting in the first row of many seats. "Okay, I think I have an idea." he stated. His voice reverberated off the walls in the auditorium as he spoke.

The red head just blinked in boredom. The blonde tried hard not to scowl at the younger boy's cold silence. "Anyway, you're smart I suppose," he said, smirking when Gaara tensed at the indirect insult. "And I heard you have one heck of a photogenic memory. If Kisame here can't teach you how to play then why don't you just try to memorize the chords-"

"-Deidara, that's not possible." Kisame interrupted, disbelief written in his features.

The blonde rolled his eyes and flicked his bangs out off his face. "And why not?" he asked turning to glare defiantly at the blue skinned man. "Itachi did when he first started. Plus, what good could it hurt to try?" he asked skeptically, turning back to face Gaara.

"You can't be serious?" Gaara muttered, turning his head to look at Sakura pointedly.

Sakura looked at a haughty Deidara back to Gaara who was still looking rather confused. "Maybe you could try... What could it hurt anyway? If it doesn't work out we'll just have to have me learn more than what was necessary. It will be fine." she smiled a reassuring smile.

"Don't butter him up," Deidara snapped in frustration.

Sakura smiled and strummed the strings of her instrument. "Jealous?" she teased.

The blonde scoffed and flicked his eyes towards Sakura. "Hardly, love." he smirked. "Let's get this show on the road."

And at that, Gaara started to pay close attention to the music they were playing. He had no idea his brother had started out just remembering what he had to play and went by that. To be honest he didn't think that was even possible; having a photogenic memory for playing guitar and all the other stuff that came along with being in a full member band. But as he sat there, listening and following closely to Deidara's playing, and his singing. His brain going through the beat of the music and pinpointing the chords he didn't even know he knew. He began to wonder if this was how it was to memorize a song.

* * *

"I knew you were making it sound too good to be true..." Ino sighed as she shook her head, refusing to look at her boyfriend.

Shikamaru just yawned and relaxed deeper into the grass. "I don't see what your problem is. I mean, who doesn't like a place like this?"

Ino scoffed and nudged her incompetent boyfriend with her foot. Not believing the words she was hearing from his mouth, she began to think whether or not he was really that dense. He had only one day left to be with her before she had to go back home and this was how they were going to spend it? She narrowed her eyes. Her last time in London was not going to be spent watching her boyfriend snore away into the ground. "Shikamaru, you better get up right now!" she shouted in annoyance.

Shikamaru groaned and waved his hand for her to keep quiet. "Come on, Ino. I've spent the whole day with you shopping. Can't you just relax a little? ... Enjoy the scenery?" he asked sceptically, spreading his arms out wide for emphasis on the scenery.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you." she growled through clenched teeth.

The lazy genius arched a brow and reached his hand out towards her. "Just sit with me. I didn't, just, bring you here for you to watch me sleep, you know. And even if you have no patience whatsoever, just wait." he urged, pecking her cheek softly and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Ino pouted but cuddled into her love's warmth. "This better be good, whatever it is you're making me sit on the murky ground for had better be worth it." she mumbled, snuggling further into his arms.

Shikamaru smirked as the first bits of his surprise started to glint out through over the horizon. "It is." he whispered in her ear as he pointed his finger out towards the sky. He grinned from ear to ear when he heard his girlfriend's gasp of surprise. "I knew you'd like it." he told her.

"Oh, Shikamaru..." the blonde trailed off as she watched the beautiful sunset. She smiled through glassy, tear filled eyes and leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips. "You're the best." she murmured against his lips.

* * *

Gaara breathed in and out through his nose as he stood before the mic, and before his brothers; Itachi, Sasuke and Kiba. To say he was nervous and feeling like he had the weight of the world resting on his shoulders was a complete understatement. No, what he wanted to do right now was sit in a park or in his room and read a nice, long book. Singing was not in his to-do list for things to experience in London.

"This is a little soon, don't you think?" Sasuke asked curiously as he watched everyone prepare to have their first practice with Gaara as the singer instead of Itachi or Sakura. Itachi was there to make sure everything would be okay while he was sick, and Sasuke was there to keep and eye on Itachi and also cause he wanted to be with Sakura. Kiba was there just to pester his twin for obvious reasons. Cause it was fun.

Deidara shook his head and tuned Gaara's guitar for a few more seconds before they had to start. "I'm positive I'm right on this. If he's Itachi's brother, then we'll blow through this like a breeze." he said excitedly.

Gaara gulped audibly as the blonde guitarist handed him the guitar. "Are you sure about this?" he asked hoarsely. "Because I remember Itachi practicing on his guitar like no other, so it's pretty hard to believe that he had a photogenic memory when it came to this..." he trailed off, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Deidara nodded and smiled cockily. "Of course, just feel the beat and remember how we played it before. Just relax – Alright, people! Positions!" he shouted.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she walked off the stage and went to sit between Sasuke and Itachi. "My, my... It would be amazing if Gaara was able to make it through this." she whispered in Sasuke's ear.

The raven haired teen just nodded.

Gaara felt his heart race slightly as the band started to play. He kept his head down, not wanting to throw up before he was even able to get a word out. Though, Deidara did say eye contact with the audience was key... But his brothers and Sakura didn't really count as an audience, and it was his first time singing in front of others and – Oh, crap! He was up!.

"**I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted  
****Surrender to nothing, I'll give up what I  
****Started and stop this, from end to beginning  
****A new day is calling, and I am finally free"**

"_**Run away, run away, I'll attack  
**__**Run away, run away, go chase yourself  
**__**Run away, run away, now I'll attack  
**__**I'll attack, I'll aa-WHOOOAAAAAAAAA"**_

Neji was frowning as they walked out of the movie theater. He couldn't believe he had allowed Tenten to drag him to see a chick-flick. One he could barely understand in the first place! He didn't even know his girlfriend liked movies like that to begin with. She wasn't exactly the girly type. He sighed and shook his head, obviously she was messing with him. "Can we go back now?" he asked as she stopped to gaze at a food stand.

Tenten turned to look at him, "Oh, you're such a downer. Is it really that hard for you to have a good time?" she mocked with a pout.

"I would have been fine if you hadn't of subjected me to that nonsense at the movie's. You don't even speak English!" he said in frustration.

"Lighten up Neji. Besides, this is my last night here, don't you want to make me happy?" she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

He sighed and looked up, hadn't he been in a situation like this already? "I should have known my suffering would make you happy," he muttered, following reluctantly as his girlfriend dragged him away to God knows where. He was really going to make her pay for this.

"**I would have kept you, forever, but we had to sever  
****It ended for both of us, faster than a  
****Kill off this thinking, it's starting to sink in  
****I'm losing control now, and without you I can finally see**"

"_**Run away, run away, I'll attack  
**__**Run away, run away, go chase yourself  
**__**Run away, run away, now I'll attack  
**__**I'll attack, I'll aa-WHOOOAAAAAAAAA"**_

"So," Naruto said as he and Hinata walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. "Did you have a good time?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness.

The violet haired girl nodded her head and looked away shyly. "It was wonderful, Naruto-kun. Sorry about what happened after the Ferris Wheel though... Why didn't you tell me you were afraid of heights?" she asked in confusion, the last thing she wanted was for Naruto to get sick after getting on a ride or something like that. Turns out as soon as the walked off the Ferris Wheel he had ran straight to the trash can and had to stay there for a few minutes to settle his stomach.

Naruto sighed and scuffed his foot against the dirt in embarrassment. "That's not something you go off telling your girlfriend, you know? Guys like to give their girls the impression that they aren't weak, and aren't afraid of anything . . . even if they are." he chuckled awkwardly. "Besides," he waved off. "Seeing you smile was worth it." he reassured, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Hinata blushed and looked away, shyly. "Why do you keep turning away? There's nothing for you to be shy about." Naruto said as he looked down at the top of the Hyuuga heiresses head.

She still blushed and refused to look up. "S-sorry... I'm not used to doing things like this. Going out on dates isn't really my forte..." she trailed off.

The blonde laughed and hugged his girlfriend tight. "Well, I guess we got more things in common then we thought; neither am I," he laughed.

Hinata furrowed her brows in confusion and finally looked up into her boyfriend's crystal blue eyes. "But... didn't you...?" she trailed off.

Naruto smiled halfheartedly. "Karin and I never went on actual dates. To her, going out was just her way of telling the other girls that she was the queen B and for everyone to back off, now that I look back. Everything her and I ever did was mainly all for show." he shook his head, not believing how much of a douche he had been over his time being with her.

Hinata nodded and leaned her head against Naruto's chest. "But I got you now! So I don't have to worry about anything else but making you happy!" he grinned and pecked her lips.

The heiress blushed and buried her head in Naruto's chest. This was definitely going to be a night to remember.

"**Your promises, they look like lies  
****Your honesty, like a back that hides a knife **_(knife)  
_**I promise you** _(promise you)_**I promise you **_(promise you)  
_**And I am finally free"**

"_**Run away, run away, I'll attack  
**__**Run away, run away, go chase yourself  
**__**Run away, run away, now I'll attack  
**__**I'll attack, I'll attack, I will attack"**_

**Run away,** _(I'll attack,)_ **I will attack  
****Run away,** _(I'll attack,)_ **I will attack  
****Run away,** _(I'll attack,)_ **I will attack  
****Run away, **_(I'll attack,)_** I'll attack, I'll aa-WHOOOAAAAAAAAA**

**Your promises** _(promises, promises)  
_**I promise you** _(promise you)  
_**I promise you** _(promise you, promise you)_

The song ended and the only thing that could be heard was Deidara's cackle as he danced around, triumphantly, on the stage. He knew he was right, he was a genius, and Kisame owed him meals for the rest of the month. He was awesome. Nothing could stop the giddy feeling racing through him as he pranced across the stage, dragging Tobi along with him, happily laughing.

Sakura stood and walked over towards the edge of the stage, looking up at Gaara she smiled proudly. "You did it! Hard to believe that you could do something like that just by listening to us play!" Sakura exclaimed in amazement.

The red head just stood there, mic still gripped in his hands tightly as he gazed out in a daze. He could not believe he had just done something like that. Singing was not his thing, he never liked crowds, and singing came with large groups of people. So automatically, even if he could sing, he never embraced the idea of going after it as an everyday thing. Like Itachi for example. The guy ate, slept, and dreamed singing. It was the exact opposite for Gaara.

The only time he ever had to sing was when he was a kid. His mother had forced him to sing in choir for the first few years of his primary school. But that just made his social life worse, and after going through his schoolmates repeatedly torturing him (even with the various threats from his ticked off brothers), he finally quit and stopped doing anything that came to social gatherings all together. He preferred books over incompetent people way more than anything else. It made his mother upset that he had become extremely reserved but it wasn't really his fault that he wasn't experienced when it came to people.

Feeling the weight of a person on his back, he blinked out of his reverie and looked up to see Deidara jumping up and down with a firm grip on his shoulders, screaming something about not having to back out of the contest, and how he was a genius. Gaara rolled his eyes at that and tried to shrug the blonde off. "Get off," he said. "You're heavy." he complained.

Deidara wasn't bothered by the comment that came from the young red head and just went on his way. Kiba came up, looking slightly impressed. "You did it, Gaara. You didn't even look like you were nervous!" he stated enthusiastically.

"Believe me, I was." he muttered, looking away and taking a deep breath.

The rosette laughed and pushed him a little. "Well, at least now Itachi can relax in peace without having to worry about helping Deidara find someone to replace him. I knew you were going to do great. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were just as good as Itachi. But then again if he heard me say that I'd lose my place as female lead, neh?" she whispered with a giggle.

Gaara rubbed his temples. Crap, he was going to have to actually go through with this? It took all he had not to throw up on the stage just in front of his family and friends. What was he going to do in front of thousands of people? Surely his brother didn't expect him to go through all this in just a couple days... Did he? He held back a groan as things started to sink in.

Sakura and Kiba looked at each other in confusion when the saw the red head turn a little green. "Gaara? You okay, you look a little sick?" she asked curiously.

Gaara blinked and turned his face away and covered his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

**A/N: Oh, yay! Another update! And it didn't take me more than a few months... I think, lol. Anyway, I hope you like. I hope there isn't any mistakes cause it takes too long to focus on everything and check if they're right. I don't have a beta, obviously, so it's not very easy trying to search for every single mistake. Meh, at least I own up to em. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I wish I got more reviews, but I don't blame you. You guys probably don't even read this. But please, just to give me a little support and to let me know you haven't completely given up on me, just leave a tiny review, tell me what you think I should do or change... Anything. I'll teach you some Korean if you want. Lol.**

**Thank you for the support, I love ya, but not in a weird way. Review and leave a thought. Thanks!**

**blonde insomniac**


	17. Chapter17 Flights, Phone Calls and Boys

_**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Naruto or any of the Characters. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**_

_**Hey all. Sorry for the late update. Mianhae! Sorry for the OOC-ness of the characters.**_

* * *

_**Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style**_

_**Chapter. 17**_

"Hahaha! I can't believe I didn't have my camera! That was priceless, you all should have seen his face." Kiba exclaimed as he bounced on the couch, re-telling the story of how sick Gaara had gotten after his performance earlier at the auditorium.

Neji arched his brow, no sign really shown in his features. But you could tell he was amused just by the slight twitch of his mouth and the way he kept coughing to feign from laughter.

Shikamaru chuckled from his position on the couch, his head lying comfortably on Ino's lap. "That's weird, seeing as he was perfectly fine that night at the party. Remember? He even gave us all a strip show."

Gaara's face blanched as he kicked at Kiba, who was still cackling next to him on the loveseat. Groaning he all but buried his face into the little throw pillow. "That doesn't count!" The red head exclaimed, his voice partially muffled by the pillow. "I was drunk and you know it. I don't even remember half of what happened." he stated.

Naruto snorted as he wrapped his arm around Hinata's shoulder. "Lucky. We all had to suffer, while mister Play-girl over here had a good time showing off his goods." the blond frowned at the conclusion. All that trouble for nothing.

Gaara growled and threw the pillow he was clutching at his blond brother, not appreciating the outcome of things one bit. "Was it this, Pick On Gaara Day?" with that, he launched himself at an unsuspecting Kiba, fed up with the annoying laughter. The brunette was caught off guard but gladly excepted the challenge and then proceeded to show off his skills by holding his brother in a head lock.

The girls shook their heads at the situation at hand. Not that it was really a big deal or anything, they just always seemed to forget how immature their boyfriends really were. They just watched on in amusement as the boys all took their parts in the fight with Gaara and Kiba. The Akatsuki was also enjoying the show.

"Ne, Forehead. Aren't you going to be bored since the girls and I are heading out tomorrow morning?" Ino asked, looking slightly down. Most likely from the thought of leaving Shikamaru and also 'cause she was going to have face everything on her own without the support from her friend. Of course she'll have Tenten and Hinata, but Sakura was close with Tsunade. And she also had the knowledge of a lot of things that would be discussed. Just the comfort of having her there to explain everything was enough.

The rosette smiled at her friend. "Of course I'm going to miss you. I'm sorry you couldn't stay any longer. At least we got to hang out before you had to go in for curfew." she said happily, hugging the blonde around the shoulders. "Are you all packed? And what time are you leaving for the airport to head back to Japan?" she asked curiously hoping that she would be able to watch as they flew off.

The three seemed to ponder this for a minute. "I think we'll be leaving around the early A.M. Like six early." Tenten said with a thoughtful nod.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but stopped mid breath when she heard the shout of a one loud boisterous blond.

"Take it back, take it back, take it back!" Gaara shouted uncharacteristically as he pushed Kiba's face into the floor, the brunette's arms flailing about as he continued to be smothered to death. The Akatsuki members were laughing out right at the scene that was presented to them even the rest of the Hatake boys seemed to be amused by the little show their younger brothers were offering.

Naruto was laughing so hard he had snorted out some of the ramen he was eating. Sasuke made a disgusted face as he pushed the blond's head into the bowl, finally smirking as his brother started to make a big scene.

"I can't believe you're actually dating him..." Ino whispered to Hinata teasingly, making the poor violet haired heiress blush.

"Ino leave Naruto alone. He's cute." Hinata said shyly, a small smile gracing her features.

The three girls rolled their eyes at their lovesick friend. Though they had to admit they hadn't seen Hinata this happy in a while. Tenten nudged Hinata with her elbow and started to tease her mercilessly for the way the heiress was sticking up for Naruto. Hinata however took it by stride and got Tenten back with her own teasing, it seemed like dating Naruto had also brought out the confident side of the heiress also.

Watching the scene before her, Sakura tried hard not to become melancholic, she was really going to miss the girls. "Awwww~ I'm going to miss you guys!" Sakura wailed as she wrapped her three friends in a big group hug.

Tenten smiled and patted the rosette's head. "Oh, Sakura it'll be okay. It's only going to be a few days besides it's more sad for us because we're going to be the ones missing your first actual concert," she said sadly. "And I wanted to see how Gaara handled everything too. Is it true he got sick after practice?" she asked with a sly smile, her eyes turning to flash over towards the embarrassed red head who has seemed to have heard the martial arts expert.

Sakura smiled apologetically at Gaara as he was then further teased for the way he had acted after practice. Sadly she knew he was never going to be able to live this one down. _`I feel sorry for the guy, combined with Naruto and Kiba's teasing he's probably going to go through a whole week or two of this madness. Even the Akatsuki joined in! Some band-mates they turned out to be.'_

**_`Oh, don't be such a spoiled sport! You've got to admit Gaara looked ridiculous running to the bathroom like the devil's hounds were hot on his heels.' _**Inner Sakura commented, cackling all the while in Sakura's mind.

_`He was going to throw up, I would have been nervous too if I was in that type of situation. Gaara's not all that sociable, remember? I'd be worried if he acted any different.'_

_**`Really?' **_

_`... W-Well, no.'_

_**`Ha! I knew it.'**_

_`Oh, just go bug someone else! I'm tired of listening to you.' _Sakura demanded, her Inner always seemed to find the perfect times to annoy her. _`This is what I get for having no friends as a child. A psychotic Inner personality that finds joy in making my life miserable.'_

_**`Ah, you don't need me to do that, you do fine with that on your own. I'm just there for the show.'**_

_`Didn't I tell you to go away?'_

_**`I'm gone.'**_

_**XxXxXxXxXxX**_

Pein watched intently as his group practiced. They weren't as awful as they had been when he first formed the band, they had gotten better, much better than he would have expected in the short time. He was pleased at the thought of having the chance to crush Itachi with humiliation at the contest that was coming up in three days.

"I see you're happy about something?" A voice said from his left. Without even looking, Pein nodded in Konan's direction.

The blue haired woman shuffled into her seat and looked on at the playing group also. "They've gotten better. Now I don't have to feel worried about their bark being stronger than their bite. They were getting a little too cocky earlier. Good thing you told them that their presentation sucked."

Pein chuckled. "They need the confidence boost, and if rubbing it in Itachi's face is what gets them going then by all means."

"You must really hate him..." Konan trailed off, shifting her eyes to the side to get a better look at Pein's reaction. "Though, you may find this disappointing, but I heard from a source that Itachi is sick and that he won't be able to sing."

The orange haired male's lip twitched slightly in disapproval. "Oh, and what are they going to do about this unfortunate event?"

Konan hummed and sat back comfortably in her seat. "His baby brother is taking his place as lead singer."

Pein scowled as he finally turned to look at his blue haired companion. "He has six "baby brothers" be a little more specific."

"The red head. The one without a social life." she explained rolling her eyes, did it really matter which one it was?

Pein frowned as he tried to think. What could he do with this situation. "Is he any good?" He finally asked after a minute.

Konan nodded. "My sources says it's almost like hearing Itachi himself, though he did add in that the boy has a small case of stage fright. He had gotten sick after his first performance in front of an audience." She stated.

Pein nodded. "Maybe there is a way we could use this to our advantage," he glanced up at the finishing band. "Kai!" he shouted, waving for the lead singer to join them.

Konan stared at Pein, wondering exactly what he had up his sleeve. All she knew was that whatever it had to be, Itachi and his band had to watch out. She was going to enjoy watching from the sidelines as the scene played out. _`What are you going to do now, Itachi?' _

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"You better call me as soon as you land." Sakura ordered as she gave each of her friends a hug goodbye as the final call for boarding was issued over the intercom.

Ino smiled as she wrapped her arms around Shikamaru. "Don't worry, we will. And you, mister," The blonde said poking her boyfriend's chest. "Better keep your phone on so I can get in touch with you. And stop sleeping on it!" she ordered, ending her tirade with a passionate kiss, making everyone very uncomfortable.

Sasuke cleared his throat awkwardly as he turned away. "Anyway,"

Sakura nodded, and then smiled cheekily. "Yeah, you guys be safe and don't get into any fights without me!"

"Or how `bout not getting into any at all." Neji said, wrapping an arm around Tenten. "Give your parents my regards, and try not to get too hyper in training. I'm not going to be there to stop you from destroying the entire training building, so show some restraint until I get back." he advised.

Tenten giggled and nodded, kissing her boyfriend's cheek. "You worry too much, I won't do anything. Besides, the only reason why I'm so hyper at practice is because I have you there to impress. There's really no point in showing how awesome I am if you're not there." She shrugged.

Neji rolled his eyes and tried hard not to blush.

Naruto snorted into his fist at how his brothers could change so fast in the presence of their girls. He however wasn't going to be like that, he was cool without Hinata around and he was going to be cool with her around.

"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said looking down shyly. "I'll see you back in Konaha. Try not to be too much for your brothers to handle."

The blond male blushed with a splutter. "H-Hey, I'm not that bad!"

The Hyuga heiress smiled and stood on her toes to give her boyfriend a kiss. "Either way, be good."

And with that, the three walked away with a wave. Everyone waited until they couldn't see the plane anymore before they shuffled out of the airport and into the Taxi cab. Sakura had to give her props to guys, they didn't seem one bit displeased with not having the girls here anymore. But then again, this was Shikamaru and Neji, even if they were upset no one would ever be able to tell.

_**`I wonder if they ever get tired of being themselves. I don't care how hot I am, there is no way I'd be able to stand hearing myself talk all the time if I was one of these Hatake boys.'**_

_`Now that's a little harsh, I thought you were rather taken with all of them...? Am I wrong?' _

_**`Not exactly, see, I'm in love with their bodies not their personalities. There is a big difference.'**_

_`You're despicable.'_

**_XxXxXxXxXxX_**

The next morning, Sakura woke to the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned in annoyance and shuffled around herself as she searched for her missing phone. She squinted in discomfort as she looked at the flashing red lights on her clock. Who was crazy enough to call her at 3:00 a.m? "'ello?" She mumbled tiredly.

_"Sakura Haruno! You horible friend, where the hell are you?" _Shouted a familiar voice from the other end of the line.

Sakura groaned and sat up, fully awake now. "Winry I-"

_"Oh, don't even go there," _her friend cut off. _"Do you know how worried I've been? Two weeks, Sakura! How can you go two weeks without contacting me? I've been out of my mind wondering if you were okay."_

Sakura rubbed her face, she did have a point. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for it to take this long for us to get in contact... I've just been really busy, I haven't had much time to think about anything."

_"Whatever, answer my question, where are you?" _Winry asked.

"I'm in London, there's a music contest, and Itachi wanted me to perform as their lead female singer. I couldn't really say no-"

_"Wait, wait, wait!" _Winry interrupted for the second time. _"Since when did you start associating with the Hatakes again?"_

Sakura winced in realization, she forgot all about Winry not knowing that she had changed her mind about going back to America to be with her parents. "Oh, well there is one small detail I forgot to mention."

The rosette could hear her friend scoff. _"Like that's any news, there seems to be a lot of things you haven't told me."_

"I guess I deserved that. Look I was ready to go back to my parents, I was at the airport an everything. But then, Kiba shows up out of nowhere practically begging me to come back; saying that already Sasuke was miserable and everyone was acting crazy. He said I had changed them and that they were wrong to treat me the way they had. And you know, I missed Sasuke so much that I found that was as good as a reason as any to come back. So hear I am, just two days away from the contest." she said taking a deep breath.

_"Wow, you have been through a lot. Who knew that Kiba kid could grow up in such short notice... Have they been treating you alright so far?"_ Winry asked after a short pause.

Sakura smiled and leaned back into her pillows. "Of course, we've all become pretty close friends now. And Sasuke and I are getting pretty serious."

Winry laughed halfheartedly. _"That's great, I'm happy for you Sak'. But next time, don't take forever to contact me, yeesh, I thought you were dead or something." _

"You did not." Sakura giggled as she rolled her eyes at how dramatic her friend could be. "I wish you could be here. You would have liked them, well, now that they are nice at least." She added.

_"Probably," _Winry hummed. _"I wouldn't have minded sharing some of your embaracing stories with them, just to get back at you for not keeping in touch."_

"I wouldn't put it passed you." Sakura muttered.

Winry laughed again. _"Whatever, I guess I'll let you go. I didn't mean to wake you up so early, of course, things would have been different if "someone" had told me they were in London in the first place." _

"You're never going to let me live this down are you?" Sakura questioned with a raised brow.

_"Nope. Anyways, gotta go, love ya! Bye!" _And with that Winry hung up, leaving Sakura to roll her eyes and try her best to get back to sleep. She felt guilty for not calling her friend, but she honestly hadn't time to herself and it was hard to think about everything at once. Though she wished she had the chance to get to tell her friend everything that has happened, but she figured she could always call her to finish telling her story. Right now, all she wanted was sleep.

* * *

**Hey everyone! It's been a while, sorry about that... Anyway, as you probably have noticed, I changed my pen name. It's Jung-Hee, which is also my Korean name. Not my real name of course, just what Koreans call me :D Anyway, I apologize again for the late update. Just a lot of things have been going on. I'll try harder to keep posting more chapters. Sorry it seems rushed in a few parts, hope you enjoyed, sorry for the mistakes. Please leave a review. **

**Jung-Hee**


	18. Chapter18 Big Brothers, Concern and Boys

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**_Sakura's Guide to the Hatake Boys: European Style_**

**_._**

Sakura woke to the feel of someone shaking her shoulder roughly. Her eyes fluttered open, and she managed to make out a slightly familiar looking face. "Mmm, Sasuke what-?"

"That's rich, did you honestly mistake me for my little brother? How would Sasuke feel if he knew you mistook me for him?" The hoarse voice said with a hint of amusement.

Sakura groaned in recognition. This was a nightmare! "Itachi, what are you doing in my room? … On my bed?"

The elder Hatake hummed, the noise coming out scratchy due to still being rather sick, and shrugged. "I needed to talk to you." He said as he cleared his throat, his eye brows squinting in annoyance at how ridiculous he sounded.

Sakura glanced at her clock to check the time, and when she did she didn't like what she got, with a cry of disbelief she wiggled in annoyance. "Couldn't you wait until it was at least a normal time, instead of like oh, I don't know, 5:00 A.M? Has the fever gotten to you that bad?" She asked worriedly as she placed her hand over his forehead. Geez, how many times was she going to be woken up this morning?

Itachi frowned and slapped her hand away. "Don't be such a baby, I need to talk to you. This is serious."

She sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to get out of this. With a nod, she sat up and turned on her bedside lamp. "Alright, what is it, you wanted to talk about?"

"It's about, Gaara." He told me, and then he started to cough, his body wracking with the intensity. I jumped slightly at how terrible he sounded and wondered what this was doing to his vocal cords. `Note to self; Find some good herbal tea to soothe his throat later. And possibly give a call to Tsunade-sama for some helpful antibiotics. She would know better than anyone.'

_**`God, you're just like a mother hen. No wonder people find you often to be a freak.'**_

_`I don't recall ever asking for your opinion on the matter. It's not going to kill me to care about my boyfriend's brothers.'_

_**`You should be paying this much attention to said boyfriend. How long has it been since you've shared a decent kiss with Sasuke?' **_

That made Sakura tense slightly, her inner was right. It had been a while, since she'd done anything remotely intimate with Sasuke. That made her feel a little guilty. _`Sasuke understands what kind of pressure I'm going through right now with the band and Deidara. He knows I'll make it up to him.'_

_**`Wow, you put way too much trust in guys.'**_

_`Please, this is Sasuke. We're talking about here...'_

_**`Yes, the same Sasuke who pinned you to a wall and kissed you after only knowing you for what? A couple of days, and then as soon as you get caught, he tosses you to the curb like a sack of potatoes.'**_

Sakura silently cursed her mind, what gave the little annoying voice the right to put doubts in her head? Sakura thought to herself giving every ounce of her mental ability to keep her inner away.

"Sakura... Are you even paying attention?" Itachi asked in an annoyed voice as he waved his hand in front of the rosette's face. His expression was holding nothing but contempt from the fact that she had been ignoring him, since, probably the whole time. "You would suck at being a therapist." he commented dryly.

Sakura glared. "Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."

Itachi snorted. "Obviously, would you like me to leave you alone while you have an inner battle with yourself?"

The rosette glared and resisted the urge to throw a pillow at her boyfriend's pompous elder brother. "Whatever," she snapped irately. "Go ahead and finish what you were going to say."

The male scoffed but reiterated. "I was saying that Gaara has, for lack of better wording, been worrying me...?"

"Why would you say that?" Sakura asked, ignoring how awkward this was. She never knew how weird it was to talk about something with Itachi until she was actually having a conversation with him that didn't involve him bossing her around. Having Itachi talk about his feelings was slightly disturbing.

Itachi rubbed his temples and immediately grabbed his marker and sketchpad, which he had been using often due to his throat. "You're going to write now?" Sakura asked curiously. Itachi glanced at her as if it was obvious.

Sakura glared. _`What a priss.'_ "Fine, just tell me what is making you worry about Gaara." She said flicking her hair over her shoulder, hopefully this wouldn't take forever.

Itachi nodded and started writing quickly on his sketch-pad, the marker moving along swiftly. It wasn't too long before Itachi had finished writing and was shoving the board in her face, rather rudely. She glared at her band member before snatching the board out of his hands and reading what he had written. **`I would like if you would start talking to Gaara again. Like you used to. He's been acting different ever since the incident with Kiba, and I'm afraid that something will happen if he's continued to be pressured from the band. He may be a little hellion on the outside, but he's got a lot of problems, and I don't want anything to happen while he's under my care.'**

She blinked and re-read what was written just to make sure this was actually what Itachi Hatake had written. _`Wow, who knew mister-cocky here could be sensitive. It's kind of scary, actually.'_

"Somehow I get the feeling you don't think he's acting like this because he is nervous..." she trailed off. This was only a guess truthfully, but it didn't hurt to put things out there.

Itachi frowned deeply, and then snatched the pad back and flipped the page, immediately he started scribbling more words. His brows were furrowed in concentration. This action made Sakura think of Sasuke. It was scary how alike these boys were but completely opposite in their own way.

**`I noticed that after his first practice, even though he was acting normal, something was bothering him. I don't know if he's still having nightmares or not, and I didn't feel comfortable with asking Kiba. Don't ask why, I didn't want to give dog-breath more reasons to pick on the kid.'**

Sakura nodded in understanding. She felt really surprised at the worry that was etched into Itachi's eyes. "I'll talk to him, see if he'll open up. However, I can't guarantee anything, Gaara and I have drifted apart lately. I'll try my best either way." She stated with a determined nod.

Itachi nodded, finding her words acceptable. Without missing a beat, he grabbed his sketch-pad and walked towards the door and then out of the room. Sakura stared at where the elder had just been and smiled with a shake of her head. Hatake men were so weird.

Sakura sighed and slumped back into her bed, her head bouncing slightly as it rested on the pillow. So much for good nights sleep. Thanks to not only Winry, but Itachi also she was left to staring at the ceiling until Deidara came slamming into her room at 7:00 to drag her out of her comfy bed into the cold air of November, so they could practice before the concert the next day.

She pondered on whether or not she could go wake Sasuke up, so they could have their much needed alone time. She couldn't even think of the last time they had a real kiss together... She thought about it for a second, and then the next she hopped out of bed and shuffled quietly to her door. "Yep, I'm waking him up," she whispered.

Sasuke woke with a pained grunt when the breath was literally knocked out of him. His eyes snapped opened, only to stare at the beautiful jade orbs of his beloved – now very much annoying – girlfriend. What kind of wake-up call was this? "Sakura," he rasped. "What do you think you're doing?" He whispered as he pushed her away and sat up, noting to be quiet since his brother Naruto was sleep across from him in the next bed.

Sakura grinned at his adorable scowl. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm waking you up." She stated it, as if she was talking about the weather.

He rubbed his face as he took a glance at the clock, god if he didn't find her presence necessary he would have killed her. "Are you out of your mind, do you know what time it is?"

She pouted and leaned up against him. "Sasuke, I can't sleep and I wanted to spend some extra time with you. You know how busy I've been," For added effect. She pecked his lips softly. "Won't you, please find it in the deepest, darkest depths of that dark soul to spend some much needed alone time with your girlfriend?"

The handsome male rolled his eyes, like he really had a choice in the matter. He threw the covers away and didn't protest when Sakura pulled on his arm to get him off the bed. "You can leave while I change." He told her with a wave of his hand, he didn't really feel too comfortable with her blatant stare as he shuffled into a pair of pants.

Sakura smirked at his obvious embarrassment as she leaned against the door. "Why, afraid I'll jump you."

His smirk nearly matched her's. "I wouldn't quite put it that way." He leered at her teasingly, and she eep'd slightly and ran out with a blush.

Sakura pouted at the door but refrained from doing anything else but going back to her room, so she could change also. She didn't really have a plan, but she wanted to get out of the place now that she was awake. It was really early, and no shops would be open, but she didn't want to spend what time she had been dilly-dallying in the confines of four walls. She figured now would be a good time as ever to spend some much needed alone time with Sasuke.

Shuffling out of her nighty Sakura pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants. By the time she was putting on her boots and a jacket, Sasuke was knocking on her door and telling her to hurry up. She rolled her eyes and opened the door to see him decked out in out-door wear also, apparently he had the same thought as she had of going outside. She took his hand and then started to make her way to the den where the door was.

"What do you want to do?" Sasuke asked, removing his hand from Sakura's and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they made their way out and down the hall to the elevators.

Sakura thought for a moment. "I don't really know. I just want to get out and spend some time with you." She smiled then and stood on her toes to kiss him lightly on the lips. "I also want to talk. You won't believe what I have to tell you."

Sasuke licked his lips and nodded. Truthfully, he would have been fine with just making out with Sakura on the couch, but he figured that would just piss her off, and he really didn't feel like making her mad. However, he knew he'd have a chance to be intimate with her later. "What is it, you have to tell me."

"Well, the reason why I'm up now actually is because Itachi came into my room–"

"What the heck was he doing there so early?" He interrupted with malice.

"I was getting there!" She rolled her eyes. Really, he could be so immature sometimes. He sure knew how to act jealous when he wanted to. "Anyway, as I was about to say before you so rudely interrupted me,"

"Just get to the point, Sakura." Sasuke huffed.

Sakura pouted. "Fine, anyway Itachi woke me up and said that he wanted me to start talking with Gaara."

Sasuke tilted his head curiously. "Why would he want you to do that?"

She shrugged. "Heck if I know. He said that he was acting different, and he was wondering if maybe Gaara was having nightmares again. I haven't really spent much time with Gaara lately so I wouldn't know. I feel bad that I completely forgot about the "therapy" sessions we were having."

Sasuke grunted a noncommittal noise. "Hn, it's not like he had come to you either."

Sakura smacked his shoulder and glared. "You know as well as I do that he wouldn't have, even if something was wrong."

Sasuke pulled Sakura closer as they finally stepped out of the Hotel and into the chilly streets of London. "It's snowing." He said conversationally.

Sakura nodded with a giddy smile. She loved the snow. "Come on Sasuke, let's go to the park." She didn't give Sasuke a chance to reply before she was pulling him across the street. The place was gorgeous at night and Sakura was starting to fall in love with this place each time she came here. She glanced over at Sasuke with a soft smile as she led him over to a bench. Their hands were laced together between them as they sat down and looked out upon the lake that was sitting frozen before them.

She flushed brightly when she looked over at Sasuke to see that he was staring at her intently. She reached up in embarrassment. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked curiously as she tried to wipe away whatever was there.

Sasuke smirked and rolled his eyes upward with a shake of his head. Reaching out, he placed his hand softly against her cheek, his eyes not yet losing their intensity, he paused for a moment then continued to make his journey upward to her hair. He brushed the pink fringe away gently, leaning a lot closer. He opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something.

Sakura blinked and started to move in closer, thinking Sasuke was about to kiss her. She stopped at the sharp jab at her forehead and gaped in shock as the haze cleared away from her, and she furrowed her brow in confusion at his smirk. "You have a wide forehead, you know?"

The rosette growled and launched herself at her laughing boyfriend. "Sasuke, you jerk! You know how sensitive I am about my forehead. Idiot, who picks on their girlfriend like that?" she pouted at him in anger. She honestly thought he was trying to be romantic. She was hoping that he was going to kiss her also, and not one of the pecks that they've been sharing, a real kiss. One that required deep breaths and lust filled eyes...

_`You perverted, no good–'_

_**`Hahahah, I was wondering when you were going to realize that was my thought process making itself known.'**_

_`Why can't you stay out of my head, why do you have to ruin everything? I was just about to beat the crap out of Sasuke before you decided to make your little appearance. Go away!'_

_**`No, I don't think I will. I'm kind of enjoying the show. Do continue.' **_Inner-Sakura urged as she started cackling in the depths of Sakura's mind.

The rosette growled low under her breath. She was about to say something else to her worthless alter ego before she realized something different. She wasn't sitting down on the cold bench like she had been before, and also she was facing down instead of forward. This was a little disconcerting. "Wha-?"

"Sakura," hissed a voice from below. "Would you mind getting off of me? You are kind of cutting off the circulation to my legs."

Said girl squeaked rather loudly, making Sasuke wince at the sound, and scrambled off of the boy and to her knees as quickly as she could. Managing to knock the wind and nearly knee him in the groin all in the process. "What the hell, Sakura!" He rolled over to his side in pain.

She smiled sheepishly and leaned against his shoulder and bent down to his face to make sure he was okay. "I'm sorry, I guess I sort of got carried away..." she trailed off awkwardly.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You think?" he rasped between deep breaths.

Sakura huffed loudly and crossed her arms and sat up, "You get what you deserve. That's what you get for messing with my forehead!" she grinned at his scowl. Shaking her head, she leaned against him and rolled him over on his back, being careful of his abdomen as she sprawled the upper half of her body across his chest while the lower half curled up at his side.

He grumbled under his breath but let her do what she wanted. He couldn't really care. He was still trying to reassure himself that she hadn't succeeded in nearly maiming him of a very important part of his anatomy. "You're pure evil wrapped up in the form of a girl with bubble-gum pink hair." he ground out.

Sakura laughed and gave him an Eskimo kiss. Her eyes twinkled in mirth at his bashful expression. "Oh, Sasuke can't you find it in your heart to forgive this girl who loves you dearly!" she exclaimed dramatically.

The dark haired teen rolled his eyes but wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her forward to where their noses were touching again, and their breaths were mingling together. He stared into her eyes and took pleasure in the way she blushed and looked away shyly. He smirked at her innocence. Pushing himself up, Sasuke's lips came into contact with Sakura's in a gentle kiss, his mouth going over her's in an angle, so he could get better access.

His hands came up to grip her cheeks, keeping her as close as he could possibly get her. He kept the kiss going at a slow pace, not really taking the initiative to deepen it any more than was necessary. He was fine with leaving the pace of the kiss in her hands. He was content with having her all to himself finally. He could not care less about how far he could get his tongue down her throat. He just wanted to savor this chance he had with her for as long as possible.

Sakura hummed from deep in her throat and wrapped her arms tightly around Sasuke's neck. She was enjoying this greatly. She forgot how much she missed the feel of Sasuke's lips against her's. She loved the little pecks she shared with Sasuke during the day, but nothing was like these types of kisses between them. Not full on frenching, but just enough to get you breathless and wanting more. And boy did she want more.

With a little reluctance, Sakura pulled away from the kiss and rested on his shoulder. Their eyes locked with each other's immediately. They had to stop before they started undressing each other in the middle of a park. Okay, so she wasn't that loose, but she didn't want to test it. She gained her breath enough to send him a breathtaking smile and give him another long kiss before she sat up and raised herself from the ground. She reached out a hand for Sasuke's to help him up also.

She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer so that she was snugly encased in his warmth. "I'm cold. Warm me up." she ordered, burying her face in his chest.

Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly at the corners as he pulled Sakura down with him to the bench. She fell ungracefully into his lap. One arm wrapped tightly around her waist while the other hand loosely interlaced with her dainty fingers. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" he asked curiously.

Sakura looked thoughtful as she placed her head on his as a hand played with his hair. "Not really," she shrugged. "It just feels like time has flown by so fast. There were a lot of surprising outcomes, but it just feels as if so much of my time has been wrapped in the band that I haven't had time to do anything personally."

"What do you mean? Like spending time with me?" he asked questionably.

The rosette shook her head. "No, not that, even if we're not intimate, we are still near each other. I meant like with everyday things. This morning before Itachi woke me. Winry called me in a fit, yelling at me because I had forgotten to call her and tell her where I was. The last I had spoken to her until then was the night before I was going to go back to America to be with my parents."

Sasuke blinked. "Well you weren't kidding when you said it was a long time." he commented dryly. He didn't really like bringing up the moment where Sakura could have been out of his reach permanently.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I felt really bad. And not only that, I feel like so much has been buried under the rug. I haven't been talking to Gaara. I haven't e-mailed my parents once since I've been here. And I still haven't talked to Tsunade-shishou, and I told her I would keep in touch. I feel like such a horrible person."

Sasuke sighed. "Stop beating yourself up, you can't help what's been going on. I'm sure they understand that you're busy. Not only that, you've been through a lot since you've gotten here. And don't think the drama's over yet. We still have Pein to deal with. I'm surprised. We haven't heard from them yet."

"Getting paranoid?" She asked teasingly.

The onyx eyed teen glared. "Hn,"

"Back to grunts now are we, Mr. Caveman." She giggled and pinched his cheeks.

"Don't push it." He warned, making her laugh even harder. She would have tumbled off his lap if he hadn't of been holding her.

* * *

**A/N: There you go my lovelies! Yay, told you I'd get it out here soon. Whoo, that took a load off my back :D I'm happy about this. I was really nervous about writing the little scene between Sasuke and Sakura, but it was long overdue. I'm hoping I can get a lot accomplished in the next chapter. It's hard to bring everything up in one chapter without it being a million pages long... ugh. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to place everything... Please be patient with me! Review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome as always.**

**Jung-Hee**


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